Sprout
by Trumpeteer34
Summary: After being exposed to an unknown chemical agent during a battle, Bruce is left unconscious, half-naked, and very young. Tony (with the help of his team) takes it upon himself to try to reverse the effects of the chemical, all while caring for the little boy who is one of his closest friends.
1. Chapter 1

Time for a new project! I know it's been done before, but I can't help myself. I love de-aging fics, and wanted to try my hand at it.

I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

"Hawkeye, any visual of Arnolds?"

The villain of the day, one Franklin Arnolds, was currently hidden from view by his army of robots down on the streets of some city in Georgia. The robotic soldiers were not why the Avengers were called in, however. When the team had been told of the situation, Arnolds was in the beginning stages of what would have been a pretty pathetic attack on the city, had it not been for the container he was holding. The man was an accomplished chemist, but for whatever reason, the man had been fired from his place of work several months ago. Vengeance was always nasty business, and with a mechanism that contained some sort of chemical agent that would be released in the form of a gas, SHIELD wasn't taking any chances.

The army of robots had been a bit of surprise. Apparently the man had been tinkering in the months of his unemployment. The army numbered into the hundreds; they weren't anything to write home about, but there were enough of them and they were built well-enough to be causing a problem.

"Negative," Clint replied to Agent Hill's inquiry over his radio. He was currently perched atop one of the buildings, overlooking the scene where Thor, Black Widow, Iron Man, and Captain America were in the thralls of battle.

Bruce's voice came over the communication line from his position in the quinjet a few blocks away. "So, it seems like the guy was fired for some highly questionable experiments he was doing with company equipment. None of that equipment is listed in the termination papers, unfortunately, but the experiments were described as _'the fantastical notions of a madman without morals'_."

"Sounds like fun," Tony replied as he shot his repulsors into the face of an attacking robot.

"Immoral men are never fun," Steve said into his radio. "We aren't getting any closer to Arnolds with these robots he keeps throwing our way. Banner, it's time. Stark, you know what to do."

"Do I ever." Tony broke away from the fight and flew toward where the quinjet was. He rounded a building and found the aircraft lowering its ramp.

Bruce was already standing by the ramp, toeing off his shoes and unbuttoning his shirt.

"You ready, Green Bean?" Tony asked as he landed on the ramp of the quinjet.

Bruce slipped his glasses off and set them atop the tablet he had been studying on a nearby seat. "As ready as I ever am," he replied, resignation leaking into his voice.

"You'll knock 'em dead," Tony scoffed as the physicist wrapped his arms around the suit's neck. Before the man could make a comeback, the engineer took off back toward the battlefield, Bruce attached to his back.

"Iron Man, what's your position?" came Steve's voice over the communication link within his helmet.

"Chill, Cap," Tony answered easily. He popped around the corner of one of the taller buildings and found where the rest of the team was currently caught up in the heat of battle. "This is our stop," he said to the man on his back as he slowed down.

"So it is," Bruce murmured, his eyes already scanning the battlefield below them. He rapped on the helmet lightly with his knuckles. "See you on the other side."

And with that, Bruce rolled off of the suit and fell toward the battlefield, his skin rapidly turning green as his muscles expanded. The Hulk exploded into being with a roar as he crashed into the fray.

"The cavalry has arrived," Tony announced unnecessarily before he, too, rejoined the fight.

With the complete team now working against the villain of the week, the tide had turned. The robotic army fell easily against the combined force of lightning, brute force, and various energy blasts and lasers as Captain America and the Black Widow helped to evacuate nearby buildings of the civilians who hadn't managed to get out before the fight had commenced.

"I have a visual of Arnolds," Hawkeye's voice suddenly came over the comm link. "Up two blocks; he surrounded himself with more of the bots. No clear shot right now."

"Proceed with caution," Hill said to the group at large from her position on the helicarrier offshore. "We're still trying to figure out what that chemical warfare is. Agent Barton, when you have a shot, take it."

"Roger that."

Steve beat a robotic soldier off of him and took a quick glance up toward where Clint had reported their target to be. "Let's see if we can get him to send more of his bots at us," he said to his team. His eyes went to the giant green man, who had just sent three of the metallic soldiers flying with a sharp growl. "Hulk!"

It was still a bit daunting to have the Hulk's glare, bright and green and _angry_, turn and stare straight at him. Steve's eyes darted back down the street for a second before he began to fight his way toward the Hulk. The big guy continued to smash the robots coming at him, but also moved to meet the super soldier half-way.

"Cap, behind you—"

Steve brought his shield up and ducked just as one of the foot soldiers was about to attack his blind spot. A sharp grunt from the other direction sounded, and the attacking robot smashed into pieces as a jagged chunk of the broken road went flying through its center. Steve righted himself as the Hulk gave a satisfied snort and brushed his hands together, having reached the captain.

"Hulk," Steve began, looking up at the giant, "can you get closer to Arnolds? Not too close, though. We need you to smash more of the robots up there." Steve pointed up toward where the worst of the clutter was. "_Don't_ get too close to Arnolds," he warned again.

The Hulk huffed, his green eyes following the soldier's outstretched arm. Another snort escaped from him, followed by a short grunt as he leapt away from Steve, closer to where Arnolds had situated himself, but still at a safe distance away.

Almost instantly, there was a wave of foot soldiers against the Hulk.

Steve returned to fending off the bots that came at him. "Hawkeye, report."

"Hulk is taking the blunt of the bots up there, but I still don't have a…" The archer's voice trailed off, his tone changing just slightly in a way that the team knew he had just spotted something.

"Hawkeye—"

They heard Clint curse. "He has hostages being brought toward him. Looks like a family. Man, woman, two kids. One block south-west. No clear shot."

"Stark," Steve immediately began—

"Trying, but I'm a bit busy," Tony replied, sounding a little winded.

"He's prepping his chemical gizmo," Clint reported. _"No shot."_

"Thor," the soldier began again, his eyes lifting to the skies to search for the demigod.

A thunderous roar seemed to shake the air, and the soldier's eyes instantly darted back to the fray. The Hulk was in mid-air, having leapt away from his position amidst the automatons, and his glare was fixed toward where Arnolds was.

"I am on my way," Thor declared.

Thor flew into view, swift as lightning, his hammer flung forward as he raced toward the hostages. The Hulk crashed into the ground in front of Arnolds, his massive green hand already balled into a fist and already lifted to strike. His fist connected with Arnolds in a fatal back hand and sent the man flying.

Not a second later, the device detonated, sending up a giant red cloud of gas with explosive force. The Hulk let out a roar as he and nearby bots were sent flying, engulfed in the cloud.

As the green goliath crashed through a nearby building, a trail of red smoke and robotic parts following him, Thor landed in front of the hostages and whirled Mjölnir, creating a whirlwind that kept the noxious gas away from family. The gas dispersed throughout the air over the robots before disappearing into the air.

Arnolds hit the asphalt in a broken heap and rolled to a stop. Whether he was dead or not was unclear.

As Thor destroyed the bots that were holding the family, Steve thrust his shield against an attacking robot. "Stark, can you analyze the air and see if it's toxic?"

There was a sound of sizzling mechanics before Tony replied. "On it."

Natasha reappeared, as she had been protecting a small band of civilians as she evacuated them to a nearby safe post. "Barton, do you have a visual of the Hulk?"

"Negative," Clint replied.

"The air's clear," Tony announced from his place above the carnage. "Whatever was in that canister has pretty much dissipated and shouldn't have any effect on anyone."

The robots by this point seemed a little aimless without their leader, who hadn't moved from where he had landed. Natasha made her way to his body. A quick check of his pulse confirmed that he was still alive, even if just barely. She also found a remote control. It didn't seem to come with an "off" switch, so she used her Widow's Bite on it.

With the control spitting sparks and otherwise inert, the robots surrounding them slumped and fell to the ground with a graceless _crash_.

"Stark, can you check on the Hulk?" Steve asked as he moved across the littered street and approached Natasha and Arnolds. "He hasn't emerged from that building he crashed through. I think he may have gotten a lung-full of that stuff."

"You got it, Cap," the iron-clad man replied as his repulsors flared to life. Tony flew up to the giant crumbling hole in the brick wall and looked into the building. The interior was dim, stray beams of sunlight came in through the high windows to highlight the clouds of dust still settling. He spotted the crater in the now-destroyed floor, the cloud of particles obscuring a visual on the man no doubt lying in its center.

When there was no sign of movement from within the cloud, the iron-clad man hovered through the hole and cut off his thrusters, landing with a solid, metallic _clunk_. He was about to lift his mask when a flashing red box appeared on the screen before his eyes with a warning of some foreign chemical in the air that would be most harmful.

"Better hang back, kids, that chemical is still pretty potent in here," Tony said to the others via the comm link. To JARVIS, he said "Activate infrared, J," before he began muttering about having to run through decontamination procedures with Bruce when SHIELD arrived on the scene.

The screen came to life, and through the murk of the chemical and dust cloud came a heat signature from the center of the crater. He started to step toward it.

A stray gust entered the building from the gaping hole in the wall and helped clear some of the dust. The flashing box disappeared; the chemical had been harmlessly dissipated into the air. Tony instantly paused in his approach and his eyebrows furrowed. That wasn't the body of a man down in that crater…

With a growing sense of trepidation, the suited man cautiously approached the scene before him, not quite sure if he was seeing this properly. He ordered the infrared to be shut off, just to be sure.

Tony stared down at the unconscious and half-naked body of a young child, lying prone in the crater. The boy's back was exposed, and while his face was hidden from view, the messy brown curls were familiar enough to shoot a tendril of dread into his core.

Without taking his eyes from the child lying in the wreckage, wearing nothing but the tattered remains of what used to be a grown man's pair of slacks, Tony opened up the communication line to his other teammates. "Um…guys? I think we have a problem…" he said uneasily.

There was a pause on the line before Steve spoke up. "…how big of a problem?" he asked warily.

Tony carefully knelt down next to the child and nudged him gently until he rolled over, revealing his very young and vaguely familiar face. The engineer struggled to find his voice for a second, simply staring down at the unconscious boy and trying to figure out if this was a very strange dream. "Uh…I'd say four or five?" he responded slowly, unable to take his eyes away from the youthful face of Dr. Bruce Banner.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

As soon as the debriefing was over, Tony Stark found himself moving sure-footedly down one of the halls in the helicarrier toward the medical area. Trying to explain what had happened to Nick Fury had been a nightmare; they weren't even certain how bad of a situation this was yet, but knowing their luck, it was a _very_ bad situation. They wouldn't know for sure, however, until the young boy that was Dr. Bruce Banner woke up.

It had been a strange post-battle meeting; he hadn't even gotten a good look at his teammates' expressions when he had climbed out of the building with the unconscious child in his arms. He was relieved that the kid remained out-cold throughout the decontamination process; being surrounded by SHIELD agents in hazmat suits was a bit frightening, even for him. The boy was given a hospital smock to wear, and once they were both deemed safe, the entire group promptly returned to the helicarrier. The child went to the hospital wing, and the rest of the team went off to face Fury, who had already heard what had happened, was less than pleased, and demanding answers.

The engineer snapped from his reverie and saw he was approaching the right door. He drew a bracing breath and looked through the thin pane of glass into the little medical room inside.

A wave of anger washed quickly over him at what he saw. He turned on his heel and strode away to one of the supply closets around the corner. He hastily found what he was looking for and then returned to the door, peering back into the room.

The child had his legs drawn up toward his tiny chest and his chin resting lightly atop his knees. The oversized hospital gown hid his limbs away from sight, leaving only the very tips of his tiny toes poking out from beneath the hem. Tony guessed the poor little guy had his arms wrapped around his chest inside the gown, trying to keep his shivering to a minimum and retain some of his body heat.

The little boy jumped with a start at the soft knock on the door.

Tony waited until the boy's big brown eyes shot to the entry before he opened the door and stuck his head in. An easy smile crossed the man's face, hoping to put the younger Bruce at ease. "Hey there," he said, both soft and friendly. "Mind if I join you?"

The child stared at him for a lingering moment before he slipped a skinny arm through the appropriate hole in the gown. He said nothing as he gestured vaguely at the chair next to the bed he was seated on before he began to return his arm to its place around his torso.

"Here," Tony said as he entered the room, shaking out the blanket he had found. Bruce looked mildly startled as the engineer draped the blanket around his thin shoulders, but immediately looked almost unnervingly grateful. Tony tried hard not to grin when he saw the tiny thankful smile appear on the boy's face and as he carefully wrapped the blanket around himself. The youth's eyes, which looked alert despite the obvious exhaustion written upon his features and in his body language, remained on the engineer as Tony took a seat in the rolling chair that had been gestured to.

"Sorry you've been in here freezing half-to-death all by your lonesome," Tony apologized, looking at his friend in child form. He didn't see recognition on his young face, which immediately answered some of Tony's questions. "Do you remember me?" he asked, just to be sure. When the boy shook his head, Tony smiled again. Yeah, this was definitely bad. Bruce's mind must have been matched to his body.

"My name's Tony," the engineer introduced himself as. He looked expectantly at Bruce. "What's yours?"

After a moment of staring, the boy's eyes moved to the small file sitting on a counter at the head of the bed. Even from where they were sitting, they could clearly see his name on the tab of the folder. When he returned his stare to the man next to the gurney, there was a small spark of mistrust in his young, deep brown eyes.

Tony grinned and held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, Bruce, you've got me." He shook a finger at the boy. "You're right clever."

His smile faltered when a brief flash of fear crossed Bruce's face. Had he said something wrong…? As quick as the emotion appeared, however, it was gone.

As Bruce's eyes dropped to the tiled floor, Tony shifted awkwardly in the chair. "How old are you, kiddo?" He grinned again at the mildly amused face Bruce tried to hide behind the blanket in response to the pet name.

The young boy held up four tiny fingers and allowed his eyes to briefly meet with Tony's before lowering again. He occupied his hands with rearranging the blanket around himself again with precise, meticulous movements.

Tony watched the child for a moment in silence, noting that the boy's fine motor skills were fairly developed for that age. "Four, huh? Getting close to being five?" he asked. When Bruce made a "so-so" kind of gesture, the engineer smiled. "Excited?"

Bruce glanced back over at the man momentarily, a mildly confused look on his face, and shrugged noncommittally.

"Ah, but there's lots of stuff you can do when you're five!" Tony pushed excitedly, earning him another concerned look from the child. "You can start school when you're five!" He paused after a moment and looked off. "Or was it six…? Or maybe I'm thinking of kindergarten…" he trailed off into a lingering silence and stared at a spot on the wall in thought. After another moment of quiet, an easy grin reappeared on his face and he shrugged, returning his eyes to the boy.

He was thrilled to see that Bruce was actually holding his gaze; he chose to ignore that it was a quietly concerned gaze, one that questioned his sanity (and wow, that was a familiar look on the boy's face that he knew all-too-well from his adult counterpart). "Regardless," Tony went on with a vague wave of his hand, trying not to grin further when amusement began to mix into the child's expression, "you get to start some sort of educational level at five. Are you excited?"

His grin faltered again as Bruce broke the eye contact in favor of studying the tiled floor once more. Okay… it didn't take a genius to see that the boy's intellect and learning were touchy subjects. It was obvious to him that Bruce was already pretty smart for a four-year-old. Granted, the engineer wasn't exactly an expert in children; his only experience with children was really that he had been one at some time in the past.

But that was beside the point.

The kid was smart. Why he didn't want Tony to know that was a mystery to him, but he wasn't about to upset the kid-form of his friend to find out.

Instead, Tony glanced around the small medical room. "You wanna get out of here?" he asked. When Bruce gazed over at him, Tony gestured toward the door. "I could show you around, if you'd like. Believe me, it's _way_ cooler than this windowless doctor's office."

The boy looked hesitantly at the door, and then at the engineer. After a moment, though, he offered a tiny nod.

Tony beamed and hopped out of the chair to his feet, making Bruce draw back reflexively in surprise and what looked a little like momentary panic. Tony pretended he hadn't seen it and went on. "Awesome. You're gonna love it. Do you need some help getting down?" he asked as Bruce glanced down at the floor.

The child shook his head and carefully slid off the side of the bed to the tile floor below.

He landed on his feet, but instantly collapsed against the side of the bed. A hand darted out from beneath the folds of the blanket to find something to grab on to. His eyes shut and he looked ready to faint.

"Whoa, there!" Tony rushed forward and helped the boy sit down on the floor. "What's wrong? Are you—?" He stopped short, his eyes darkening at a realization. "Are you dizzy?"

Bruce nodded just slightly and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly.

Tony stayed knelt down beside the pint-sized doctor, ready to try to help, but not entirely sure how. "What did the doctors do to you, bud?"

The boy glanced over at the engineer, looking disoriented, but not all that frightened. He brought a trembling hand up and patted his chest lightly: heartbeat. The hand moved upward and was laid across his forehead in an obvious miming of taking someone's temperature. Next, he pointed at his eyes: pupil dilation. His other arm snuck out from behind the fabric in a submissive position, palm up and elbow pointed downward. The sleeve of the hospital gown hid nearly three quarters of his arm, coming to end halfway between his wrist and elbow. His other hand wrapped around his upper arm, signifying his blood pressure had been taken.

Finally, Bruce pushed back the sleeve to reveal a little cotton ball taped to the inside of his elbow.

Tony glared down at the ball of cotton, his irritation beginning to boil over. "They took your blood?" he asked, just barely able to hide his anger. When the boy shrugged, however, that anger turned into hot-blooded fury. "You don't know how much they even took… You weren't awake."

Bruce shrugged again before hiding the offending elbow behind the thin fabric of the gown. He rubbed his eyes with both hands and curled deeper into the blanket around him, letting his forehead rest against his knees.

The engineer watched him. No wonder he was freezing. Not only was the young child feeling the effects of an unwilling blood donation, but he was also dealing with the aftereffects of a full-grown Hulk transformation. Even on a good day, the transformation took a toll on Bruce. That toll must have been at least tripled for him in this form.

"You think you're going to pass out?" he asked quietly when the silence began to become obtrusive.

Bruce shook his head, but the slight hesitation told Tony he wasn't entirely sure.

Tony nodded to himself, his mouth tightening into a thin, straight line. "Yeah, your blood sugar is probably _way_ too low. I'm going to get you something to eat," he announced as he rose to his feet. "I'll be right back—"

When he felt tiny hands frantically grab onto his jeans, the engineer paused, and a small body closed in on his leg. He looked down to meet the boy's brown eyes, which were wide and staring pleadingly up at him. The four year old clutched at his leg, probably in desperation not to topple over, but more than that, to not be left alone.

As Bruce buried his face into the back of his leg, a strange ache made itself known in Tony's chest. He stared down at the familiar mop of brown curls, missing only the dusting of grey he was accustomed to. He carefully laid his hand atop the young boy's head, noting how the kid flinched a little, but didn't draw away. "You want to come with me?" he asked in a tight voice.

Bruce nodded into the man's jeans.

_Please don't go. Don't leave me alone._

Tony absolutely understood not wanting to be left behind. He pushed away the unpleasant memories of his own childhood and instead smiled a little sadly down at the young boy clinging onto him.

"Okay," he said, and lightly patted the boy's head. When Bruce looked up to give him a surprised look, that strange ache in his chest throbbed. Oh, this was going to be heartbreaking…

Tony kept the emotions associated with that thought off his face and smiled at the boy. "Are you okay to walk, or do you want me to carry you?"

The thought of being carried around an unknown place by a stranger must have mortified the little guy, considering how quickly he released Tony's leg and stepped back a few paces. Tony chuckled as he pulled out his cell phone. "We'll take it slow. Just let me know if you feel like you're going to faint, okay bud?" he asked, sending a quick message to the other teammates, asking them to gather in one of the conference rooms.

Bruce nodded, keeping his eyes low as he gathered the blanket up into his little arms. He glanced up at the engineer for the briefest of moments before returning his gaze to the floor.

Tony stepped toward the door and pulled it open just enough to stick his head through. He peered down both of the corridors, looking for SHIELD agents. He somehow doubted that Bruce was allowed to leave the medical wing right now, but there was no way he was leaving the poor boy in here for a second longer. He would be yelled at, there was no question about that, but this was what was better for the child about to faint.

He turned and looked back at Bruce, pulling the door completely open. "Coast is clear; let's go."

The boy carefully padded forward on his bare feet, moving slow and meticulously. He looked dreadfully apprehensive and still rather lightheaded, but he drew a deep breath before stepping over the threshold.

Tony pulled the door closed behind them and moved to the child's side as Bruce tentatively put a hand on the wall to keep himself upright. The man kept a vigilant eye on the child as they walked slowly down the hall, taking note of just how stiff the boy's movements were. He felt his eyebrows furrow slightly.

"Are you sore?" Tony asked softly. When Bruce glanced up at him, the engineer elaborated. "Feeling achy? Does moving hurt?"

Brown eyes lingered on the man's face for a moment longer before he offered the tiniest of nods.

Tony felt himself nod knowingly. "You'll feel better after you eat something and get some sleep," he reassured the child. "You're still pretty tired, too, I'm sure?"

Another tiny nod.

"Once you eat something, you can sleep if you'd like," Tony offered. He kept a sharp eye on the boy as Bruce swayed for a second. The kid leaned against the wall, eyes scrunched tightly shut against the wave of dizziness that must have crashed over him.

They only stopped two more times along the way to the conference room so Bruce could overcome his latest dizzy-spell. The further on they walked and the more they garnered looks from passing agents, the closer the kid moved to Tony's side.

It was slow going, but the pair finally reached the door to the room. The engineer knocked—something he _never_ did—before he opened the door and led the child over the threshold.

All conversation went silent between the four other Avengers when they saw their changed teammate. Tony could have sworn he heard a near-silent string of Russian profanity fall from Natasha's lips.

"Guys," Tony began carefully, giving them each a brief and sharp stare before he gestured down at the boy, "this is Bruce."

The child saw the four adults staring at him and he moved to hide behind Tony, a hand shooting out to clutch at the denim again.

Clint was the first to find his ability to speak. "Kind of shy, ain't he?" he remarked lightly, not taking his eyes off of the boy.

"Give him a break, Barton," Tony rebuked, gazing back at Bruce. "He's having a rough day. C'mon, bud. Let's sit down."

The four year old nodded into the back of the engineer's leg before the pair slowly moved forward. Tony felt the child falter, his grip tightening suddenly, and he turned. "It's alright, little guy," he said soothingly as he picked up the boy. Bruce looked panicked until Tony gently deposited him into a seat. "Head between your knees until the dizziness goes away."

"What's wrong?" Steve asked quietly, watching the boy do as he was told before he looked to the engineer. "Side effect of the, uh…?" He made a helpless gesture toward the child.

Tony's expression darkened as he sat down in the chair next to his tiny lab partner. "Oh, you know, the normal stuff," he replied airily, obviously alluding to the post-transformation symptoms. A mirthless chuckle escaped from him. "Oh yeah, and the guys down in medical took some blood, a vial or seven."

"They took his blood?" Clint repeated.

Tony only smiled; the expression was almost frightening. "His blood sugar is probably leagues below sea-level," he changed the subject. He glanced over at Steve. "Got any of those protein bars on board?"

"Of course," Steve said as he moved toward the door. "Some fruit juice would probably help, too." His blue eyes shifted to the redhead. "Do you have a bottle of anything with you?"

Natasha nodded, and then gazed at Bruce, who was slowly starting to sit upright again, having conquered the latest bout of lightheadedness. "Do you like orange juice, Bruce?" she asked. She ignored the startled glances from her teammates in response to her sweetly gentle voice.

The boy's brown eyes met hers for only a second before he looked back down and began fiddling anxiously with the edge of the blanket. He gave a tiny nod.

A small smile touched her lips and she got up from her seat. "We'll be right back," she said delicately as she whipped out her cell phone. She waggled it and looked pointedly at Tony as she and Steve slipped out of the room.

As Tony reached into his pocket for his phone, Thor's eyes returned to the child amongst them. "Tell me, young doctor, how many years have you seen?" he boomed.

"What Thor over there _means_," Clint cut in when Bruce looked hopelessly confused and a little frightened, "is how old are you?"

After a moment of looking helplessly between the two muscle-bound men on the other side of the table, Bruce glanced up at the engineer sitting next to him, looking unsure.

Tony saw the questioning gaze as he put his phone on the table. He smiled down at the boy. "It's okay, Bruce. Clint—" he gestured at the archer "—and Thor—" he waved a hand at the Asgardian "—are friends. You're safe with us."

As the phone on the table lit up, Bruce looked hesitantly from the demigod to the archer and back. He ducked his head and held up four fingers.

While Clint tried to strike up a conversation with the reluctant child, Tony focused on the text message he received from Natasha. He smirked when he read it: _As adorable as he is, how are we going to get Dr. B back?_

Tony's thumbs flew across the small keyboard on his phone: _My guess is that this is completely chemical. More up Bruce's alley. I'm sure SHIELD will process his blood, among other things. I can run some tests back at the tower._

As he waited for the assassin's response, he tried to make heads or tails of the story Thor and Clint were telling. A quick peek down at Bruce told him the boy was just as lost as he was. At least he didn't look quite so nervous anymore…

He was just beginning to catch on to the story when Natasha's text came: _What are we going to do with him?_

Tony's answer was blunt: _He's not staying here._

The engineer put his phone down on the table again, staring at it as he thought about their situation. It would be a cold day in hell when he left Dr. Banner aboard this helicarrier and at the mercy of SHIELD, pint-sized or not. The agency obviously had no idea how to care for their de-aged teammate. Then again, his own knowledge on child care was practically nonexistent, and he didn't really have any proper memories to fall back on, as far as his father's parenting skills were concerned. He did remember some of his mother's interactions with him, but he had no clear memories from before the age of seven or eight.

The rest of the team was probably worse off in their knowledge than he was. Steve's parenting ideas were outdated, never mind him being orphaned fairly young. Thor's parents _obviously_ did something wrong, if Loki was anything to judge by. Clint was orphaned, so he wouldn't be much help. And Natasha…eh, he didn't even want to think about what happened _there_.

He felt himself slump in his chair minutely. There was no way Bruce was staying here, that much was certain.

Tony was broken from his thoughts by the sound of the opening door. He saw the boy in his periphery jump and draw the blanket more tightly around himself as they both looked over to the entrance.

Natasha stepped into the room, her eyes going to the child first before locking with Tony's. Steve followed her into the room and closed the door behind him. They both moved carefully, so as not to frighten the child who was staring down at his lap.

"Here you go, Bruce," the assassin said gently as she set down a small bottle of orange juice and two protein bars in front of the child. She put down an unopened bottle of water too, knowing it would be of use later.

As the two moved to take their seats again, Tony looked back down at the boy seated next to him. He saw the almost wary expression on the child's face and wanted to frown. Instead, he smiled encouragingly and nudged the food items closer to the kid. "It's okay, bud," he said reassuringly. When Bruce glanced up at him, Tony nodded toward the assassin. "Natasha and Steve—" he waved a hand toward the captain "—are friends, too." He paused to smile again. "None of us are going to hurt you."

Bruce's eyes slowly left the super soldier and shifted to where they were locked directly on the engineer's eyes, as if searching to see if the man was being truthful.

To be honest, it made Tony a little uncomfortable to see the mistrust instilled in his young lab partner at such an early age. He held the boy's gaze for a little longer before he reached over and picked up the orange juice. He broke the seal on the cap and held out the open bottle to Bruce. "You'll feel better," he insisted quietly, "and it will help with your lightheadedness. Please."

The boy glanced from the juice and up to the chestnut brown eyes staring down at him. With a tiny exhale, the four year old's shoulders slumped and he bowed his head in concession. His small shaky fingers carefully took the bottle from the engineer's outstretched hand.

As the child began taking tentative sips of orange juice, Tony reached over and picked up one of the protein bars. He ignored the stares he felt burning into his skin from the rest of his teammates while he busied his hands with opening the wrapper. He placed the bar on the table before he finally lifted his gaze to meet the others.

"I think we should pay Fury a visit," the billionaire began in faux-cheer.

Almost immediately, three of the four gazes turned wary. It could only be expected from the two SHIELD agents and the soldier.

Tony met each of their eyes for a long moment, his outrage over the situation beginning to bubble in his core and show in his heated glare. "They took his _blood_ without his permission," he reminded them forcefully. "They left him in a room by himself, _shivering_, knowing full well how he usually is after—" He caught himself from divulging information that would probably scare the kid, and settled for making an angry gesture. "SHIELD obviously won't take care of him."

"That's just the medical wing," Steve countered, though he sounded like he didn't want to argue. "You can't just cast aside an entire agency for the errors of one division."

"Sure I can, and you want to know why?" Tony didn't give the super soldier an opportunity to respond. "Medical should have known better, should have treated him right. The rest of SHIELD won't be any better."

"You can't know that, Stark—"

"Hey," Clint cut in before things could escalate further, "think you two could take this somewhere else, preferably where who you're talking about _can't_ hear you?" He nodded toward Bruce.

Steve and Tony turned in unison to the boy, whose head was bowed. The child's brown curls hung in his face, but not enough to hide the expression of anxiety stamped there. He had abandoned the juice and had wrapped himself tightly in the blanket again, his tiny body shrinking back against the back of the chair as if willing himself to vanish. He didn't bother to look up when the argument had been stopped by a comment about him; his troubled eyes remained downcast.

The captain visibly deflated at the sight and Tony let out a small sigh. "Look," the engineer went on, much more subdued this time, "SHIELD has never exactly been _kind_ in the past, and they'll probably just run the same tests that we can easily do ourselves in the tower. At least there he'll be cared for."

"Fury's not going to like it," Natasha said. "The Director made it clear that he wants him to stay here."

Tony scoffed. "When Fury educates himself in the ways of humanity, let alone pediatric care, he can go to town. Until then, Bruce is _not_ staying aboard this ship."

"Are _you_ educated in the ways of pediatric care?" Clint asked. When the engineer shot him a glowering look, he held up his hands. "I'm just asking. How are you going to keep an eye on him while doing lab work?"

Tony's eyes narrowed and he glanced at the others. "Are you all planning on not helping?" he asked. "What happened to working as a team?"

"The rest of us have missions for the next few weeks, Tony," Steve reminded the other man.

"Remember?" Clint added as a smirk began to form on his lips. "The only reason you're excused is because of those big business meetings Miss Potts wants you at."

The engineer suppressed a full-body shudder at the thought of those awful meetings. "Alright, fine, so none of you will be able to help?"

"Not for a few weeks," Steve admitted apologetically. He glanced over at the demigod. "How long will you be in Asgard?"

"It is unknown at present," Thor replied, "though I will try to return with haste."

"This is all _if_ Fury will let you take him back to the tower," Natasha said, directing her stare to the engineer once more.

"I hear doubt in your voice, Red," Tony replied airily. He glanced over at Bruce, who was watching the group of talking adults avidly, but quickly looked away when he found Tony's eyes on him. The engineer grinned and faced Natasha again. "You know I have a way with words that even Fury cannot resist."

His expression darkened. "In the meantime, could you locate the taken blood? I don't trust SHIELD with it."

"I don't think any of us do," Steve added grimly. After glancing over at Bruce again, a soft sigh escaped from him. "Natasha, Clint: find the blood medical took. The rest of us will go talk to Fury." He paused to gaze over at Tony. "He ought to listen to reason."


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

"Are you out of your goddamn collective minds?" Fury asked.

_'So much for being reasonable,'_ Tony thought to himself as he smothered a snort of derision.

After Clint and Natasha had gone off to find the blood SHIELD had taken without permission, the rest of them had made their way to Fury's office. Steve and Thor took the lead, leaving Tony to walk beside the little boy. They moved slower than they would have normally walked in respect for the child in their midst.

The orange juice must have helped on some level, for they hadn't needed to stop to let Bruce overcome any dizzy spells, so that was definitely a plus, but the kid hadn't eaten anything yet, and that was a definite negative. Tony had carried the food items so the kid could eat while the adults discussed plans.

It was harder to get Bruce comfortable with separating from Tony. They didn't want the little guy to listen to the conversation, so it had been decided that Thor would stay outside with Bruce while Steve and Tony marched off to battle against Fury. It had taken a promise from Tony that he wasn't abandoning him for the poor kid to finally relinquish his iron-grip of the man's jeans, as well as an oath from the demigod that he would not harm him.

And though he could not see it as he walked into the office with Steve, Tony could feel the boy's distressed eyes following after him. He had pushed down the overwhelming guilt that had welled up in his chest for leaving the boy behind, but this had to be done.

But _this_ was turning out to be a little more difficult than Tony had first thought. Fury looked between the two Avengers like they had both sprouted second heads.

"Not at all, sir," Steve replied, ever-respectful. "We believe that Dr. Banner will be more comfortable at the tower while an antidote is found."

The Director turned the intensity of his one-eyed stare on the super-soldier. "And who exactly is _'we'_?" he inquired.

"The rest of the team," Tony answered with an easy shrug. "Do you really want one of your agents playing babysitter? He'll be better off in the tower."

"We don't even know how Arnolds' chemical fully affected him," Fury pointed out. "The tests haven't even been _started_ yet; we don't even know if his blood is still radioactive."

As Tony's expression darkened at the mention of Bruce's blood—of which Fury seemed to know that SHIELD had taken—Steve spoke up again. "The tests can easily be done in the tower," the soldier explained. "At least, that's what Tony says."

"You don't believe me?" the engineer asked, turning to look at Steve.

The soldier went on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "The helicarrier is no place for a child—"

"Even if said child is radioactive and the slightest provocation of his emotions could result in catastrophic damage?" Fury cut in harshly.

Tony's eyes shot back to Fury. "_Catastrophic?_" he repeated, his incredulous voice going high. "Have you _seen _him?! The kid's—"

"Stark," Fury easily interrupted, effectively cutting the engineer off. "We don't know if the Hulk is still an issue or not. Children that young already have volatile emotions, but this is _Bruce Banner_ we are talking about."

"I don't see how that makes a lick of difference," Tony shot back angrily.

"He seems like a good kid, sir," Steve countered, the single voice of calm in the angry room. "In the time that he's been awake, he hasn't run off or cried or screamed or anything."

Tony thought uncomfortably of the wetness that had appeared in the boy's frightened eyes when Tony had asked Bruce to wait outside with Thor, but didn't say anything.

"He is also still exhausted from the battle earlier," Fury counter-offered. He leaned back in his chair and studied the two men in front of him, silent for a long time. It was the kind of hush that even Tony knew better than to break.

Finally, Fury straightened back up and leaned forward on his desk, hands folded neatly together. "Neither of you have seen Dr. Banner's full file," he said at last. "There is little enough about his childhood that we know, but what we _do_ know doesn't paint a very pleasant picture. There is a _reason_ why the Hulk exists."

While Steve looked vaguely nervous at what Fury was alluding to, Tony rolled his eyes. "None of us exactly had a picture-perfect childhood, Nick," the engineer began.

"Not all of you attempted to blow up your school with a homemade bomb," Fury rejoined calmly.

That effectively cut off any sort of reasoning Tony had started to make. Next to him, he felt Steve grow tense, but he remained focused on Fury. A wave of nausea went through the engineer at the unexpected point of information about his friend.

In the smothering tension that suddenly filled the room, Fury continued. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. The anger that created the Hulk started long,_ long _ago. This is a _troubled child_ with the potential to cause some serious damage if he so much as gets irritated. If Dr. Banner as a full-grown man can only _sometimes_ control his alter-ego, what makes you think a _toddler_ can?"

It took what felt like ages for Tony to find his voice, but it must have been only a second or two. "That's _if_ the Hulk is still even in there," he heard himself say, voice slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat and continued. "There are already floors in the tower that have been reinforced to handle the Hulk—the full-grown, behemoth Hulk. And besides, the kid is _four_; there can't be any way that the Hulk already existed at that age."

"You sure about that?" Fury asked.

"Sure enough," Tony shot back. "And this shouldn't even _be_ about Hulk. This is about a kid who should have a welcoming environment to be comfortable in while we figure out how to fix this. He _won't_ get that here, and don't you _dare_ try to tell me otherwise."

Fury leveled his eye on the engineer, studying the man for a long moment. Tony didn't back down nor avert his eyes from the one-eyed stare.

A thought occurred to Tony suddenly, and he felt his glare darken. "He's not staying here in your cage, Fury," he declared. "If you're so worried that he's going to destroy things, let him out of here. I'll take full responsibility for anything that happens."

Another brief silence filled the office space for a moment before the sound of a clearing throat brought both Tony's and Fury's glare to Steve.

The soldier returned Fury's stare with one of his own. "Bruce has already started to attach himself to Tony, sir," he said. "If you were to separate them, the chances of what you fear could happen will go up. He'll be fine in the tower, sir; far better than he'd ever be here."

Fury looked back and forth between the two Avengers in front of him, contemplating in silence. Finally, he locked his eye on Tony again. "I want you to keep SHIELD updated on any and all progress you make," he said, eye narrowing a little at the victorious smile that spread on the engineer's face. "We'll keep working on getting information about Arnolds and his chemical on our end." He leaned back in his chair a little. "And maybe if Arnolds wakes up, he can let us know just what the _hell_ he was trying to do."

"What's his condition?" Steve asked.

"He's still in the ICU," Fury disclosed. "Doctors aren't sure if he'll pull through." He looked back at Tony. "Keep in mind that _that_ is the kind of damage you're potentially dealing with."

"He's four," Tony scoffed, "and he's on the tiny side of scrawny at the moment. If I can't deal with that, I don't deserve the title of _Avenger_." He paused briefly. "So, we done here?"

"We're done," Fury answered. "I'll have a jet prepared for your immediate departure."

Tony flashed a smile at the director before he turned swiftly on his heel and walked to the door. He heard Steve thank Fury behind him as he opened the door.

He immediately saw Thor, who was seated a few feet down the hall against the wall opposite from Fury's door. The demigod raised a finger to his lips and gestured forward. Tony looked down toward where Thor had pointed to and frowned slightly.

Seated across the hall from Thor was Bruce, who was curled up tightly within the blanket and currently dozing, head resting on his drawn-up knees. Mjölnir was placed next to him on the ground, posing no threat whatsoever.

The boy suddenly blinked awake when Steve shut Fury's door behind him. Bruce's eyes immediately found Tony.

Tony forced a smile to his lips and stepped toward to the little guy. "Well, everything's settled," he announced. "Everything go alright out here?" he asked, glancing over at the demigod on the ground as he came to a stop next to Bruce.

A small spark of sadness lit up in Thor's eyes. "He does not seem very fond of me at present," he replied, "but all was well during your meeting."

Tony frowned again and looked down at Bruce, who had inched slightly closer to the engineer and was casting a mildly frightened look over at Thor. "Well…"

He didn't get a chance to finish his thought, for his phone buzzed in his pocket. He swiftly pulled it out and unlocked the screen to see a message waiting there from Natasha: _We found all of the blood, and it's been prepared for travel. The jet will be ready for take-off in ten minutes. Your armor is being loaded now._

"Well, it looks like our transportation is almost ready," Tony said. He knelt down next to Bruce. "Have you ever been on a plane before?" he asked as the boy looked over at him.

Bruce shook his head.

Tony smiled. "Well, you're in for a treat, then. You ready to see our chariot?"

The kid suppressed a small smile at the terminology and nodded, slowly rising to his feet.

"I'll walk you two out," Steve said. He glanced down at the demigod, who was still seated on the floor. "Can you stick around for a few minutes before you head back home?"

"Most certainly," Thor replied with a solemn nod, and then turned a smile over toward Bruce. "I wish you good health, little one, and that we may meet again."

Tony felt the boy scoot a little closer to his leg when the Asgardian had turned his attention to him, but when he glanced down, he saw a small smile on the kid's face. It was a strange combination of actions, but it made Tony feel a little bit better. The engineer looked back at Thor. "See you in a few weeks?"

"I will attempt to return with haste," Thor answered as he stood. "Take care."

After they left Thor behind, Steve led the way toward where the jet would be ready. Tony kept pace with Bruce, watching the boy's eyes wander around his surroundings. They passed by a series of windows, and Tony had to fight the grin that wanted to appear when Bruce's eyes widened. The helicarrier was still hovering over the ocean, and a series of clouds could be seen in the distance. Tony wasn't sure how far off the coast they were, but land wasn't visible from where they currently were inside.

Once Bruce realized they were already up in the air, his interest in their surroundings increased exponentially. He looked at everything, but never once raised his voice to ask a question about anything. It struck Tony as odd, but considering how new the environment was, on top of the numerous agents that passed them by, he figured the kid was just shy and didn't want any more attention drawn to himself.

Still, it made him wonder…

His thoughts were interrupted when Steve brought the group to a stop outside the door that would lead them to the main deck. The soldier turned and looked down at Bruce. "It's going to be really windy outside," Steve explained to the boy, "so hold on tight to that blanket, alright? And don't be afraid to grab on to something if the wind is too strong."

As he was being addressed by the soldier, Bruce had immediately trained his attention on Steve, completely abandoning his visual exploration of the aircraft. The boy gave a tentative nod and pulled the blanket more tightly around his tiny body before moving a little closer to Tony's side.

Tony prepared himself to grab the kid if the wind knocked him over as Steve pushed open the door to the deck. Immediately, a gust of wind rushed inside and engulfed them in a blanket of fast-moving air, made cold by the altitude.

The engineer heard Bruce gasp as tiny fingers instantly gripped the fabric of his jeans. He glanced down at the boy, who was now squinting against the wind to see outside. The kid's curiosity must have been more overpowering than any of the nervousness that the boy was probably still feeling.

The group stepped outside into the sunlight, and the wind continued to blow against them. The blanket around Bruce was held tightly in a small fist, but the corner that wasn't flapped in the wind like a cape, dancing on the heavy breezes that blew his brown curls into a familiar state of disarray. The boy's other hand still clutched at Tony's jeans, but he didn't look frightened at all.

Instead, the kid looked absolutely fascinated. Scattered across the deck were jets and technicians performing maintenance on the various aircrafts. Beyond the commotion to their right was the Atlantic, seemingly endless. To their left, they could just make out the coast to one of the states along the eastern shore of the US. Tony wasn't sure how much closer they had gotten to New York since they had returned after their fight in Georgia, so he couldn't say for certain which state's shoreline they could almost see. He also wasn't sure how high up they were, but the clouds overhead that Bruce kept looking up at seemed almost within reach.

It was all perfectly ordinary for Tony and Steve, but to a kid, this had to have been like something out of a dream or a wild flight of fantasy.

They found Natasha standing near one of the quinjets as a small group of technicians went about doing last-minute tune-ups. As if sensing them, she turned and watched the three-person group approach. Her eyes darted momentarily to Bruce before she regarded Tony and Steve. "We'll be set to board in another minute," she called over the wind. "We should get to the tower in a little over two hours."

"You're flying?" Tony asked.

As the team of technicians gave the all-clear on the jet and rushed off, Natasha gave a firm nod. She eyed Steve momentarily before she turned on her heel to start prepping the jet for flight, leaving the group of three alone.

The super-soldier glanced down at the boy, and then back at Tony. There was something like guilt in the blond man's expression, but before the engineer could comment on it, Steve spoke. "I'm going to see what we can do here to get our schedules cleared up to help out," he said, just loud enough to be heard over the jet and the roaring wind. "If you can manage for at least the first week or so, we ought to work out a system that allows at least one of us to be there every now and then to help."

"Cap, it's fine," Tony replied, the words genuine despite the scoff and hand-wave. "Nothing I can't handle."

"You shouldn't have to handle it on your own," Steve responded. The man's blue eyes drifted down to Bruce briefly, who was completely ignoring the conversation in lieu of studying the quinjet. There was a moment where nothing more was said, and then the soldier's shoulders sagged slightly with a sigh that was lost in the wind. "As soon as we have something figured out, we'll let you know. If you need anything at all, _please_ don't try to handle it completely on your own. You _are_ allowed to call for back-up."

"Steve, it'll be fine," Tony said, dropping his usual snark in an attempt to make the captain relax. "Just worry about taking care of your soldierly duties first. Until then, we'll be fine." He grinned down at the kid. "Right, Bruce?"

Bruce glanced up at Tony, but didn't make any movement to either affirm or negate the question.

"We'll be fine," Tony answered for him instead as he returned his eyes to Steve.

Steve didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue further. Instead, he turned his gaze to the boy. "Keep an eye on Tony here, alright?"

"Um, excuse you, who exactly is babysitting who?" Tony responded testily. When he saw a smile appear on the soldier's face, the engineer glanced down in time to see the shy smile on Bruce's face. The child nodded.

Tony rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with his hands toward Steve. "Alright, go back inside before Natasha runs you over."

"I'm going, I'm going," Steve replied with a laugh, still smirking and starting to turn away. After a quick pause, he glanced over his shoulder. "In all seriousness, though, please let us know if you need anything."

"I will," Tony said. He turned and looked down at Bruce. "Ready to hit the skies?"

Bruce's eyes lingered on the blond super-soldier as Steve stepped off to watch the launch from a safe distance. When he looked up at Tony, he offered a tiny nod.

The pair stepped up the loading ramp and into the quinjet, where only Natasha was inside. She already had her headset on, and she glanced over her shoulder once they had boarded. "Ready?" she asked.

Tony glanced around the interior of the craft, easily finding his armor off in a corner next to the ramp. There was a cooler nearby, no doubt holding the blood SHIELD had taken from Bruce. "I'd say so," he answered.

"Then take a seat and buckle in," Natasha said as she turned back around to face the controls. "Set an example for our guest."

Tony rolled his eyes, but he sat himself down on the seat next to Bruce. The boy had already climbed up onto the seat and was on his knees, staring out the window with eyes wide with wonder. "Gotta put your seatbelt on, kiddo," he said. As Bruce glanced over, Tony buckled up in demonstration.

Bruce turned himself around to sit down properly on the bench before he easily buckled himself in. Immediately after, he eagerly started looking around the inside of the jet. His eyes instantly went to the ramp as it was lifted and the exit closed.

Tony bit back a grin. "Alright, Red, we're all buckled in. _Safety first_, and everything."

He could almost hear Natasha roll her eyes, but she neglected to comment and instead focused on getting the jet airborne.

As the quinjet began to shake a little with the liftoff, Tony laid his arm along the length of the bench and looked down at Bruce. The kid was turned around in his seat again, peeking over the back of the cushion and out the window.

Tony glanced past the glass as Natasha turned the jet and started to accelerate north, giving them a perfect view of the helicarrier. The engineer suspected she did it purposely for their young teammate, who stared avidly at the gigantic hovering aircraft as it started to grow smaller and smaller with distance.

When the aircraft suddenly started to disappear, Bruce's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Cloaking device," Tony explained as more and more of the helicarrier seemed to vanish into thin air. Bruce glanced up at him for a second before returning his eyes to the disappearing ship. Tony continued. "They have some very special technology that makes them turn invisible with the right wavelengths."

The furrow from the boy's brow disappeared quickly with the explanation, and the kid stared until there wasn't a single hint that the helicarrier had ever been in the sky.

"Alright, we're flying steady," Natasha said from the front of the jet. "You can take your seatbelts off now."

Tony did so immediately and turned so he was sitting properly on the bench again. A small smile appeared on his face when he realized that Bruce continued to stare out the window, just looking at the billowing clouds and the massive ocean far below.

After a few more minutes, the kid drew back far enough from the glass to yawn into a tiny hand. It was a sudden reminder to Tony that the boy hadn't slept properly yet, and rest was one of the most important things Bruce needed after a transformation.

Sleep and food.

"Did you eat those protein bars?" Tony asked the child.

Bruce sat himself back down and carefully unbuckled the seatbelt. Tired brown eyes turned briefly up to Tony as Bruce nodded, holding up a single timid finger.

"You only ate one?" Tony asked.

The boy nodded and yawned again, hiding it behind a fold in the blanket that was still wrapped around him. He leaned back on the bench and started looking around the interior of the jet again.

Tony watched the child for a second more before he pulled his phone from his pocket. He opened a new screen and started typing in possible avenues of research that would hopefully resolve this issue. The sound of the flying jet faded into the background the longer he worked, and with no outside noises to disrupt him, Tony was able to work easily in peace.

It was something touching his arm that startled Tony from his thoughts. His head whipped up at the same time Bruce flinched away from the engineer's side, blinking rapidly and looking up at Tony with fearful eyes. It took all of a second for Tony to realize that the boy had been dozing off and had unconsciously leaned against him.

When he also suddenly realized that Bruce had cowered away from him because of his violent reaction to the unexpected touch, Tony cringed internally. He smiled sheepishly down at the boy. "Didn't mean to startle you, Bruce," he apologized. As the boy marginally relaxed, Tony gestured at the bench. "You can lie down if you want to get some sleep. It'll be two or so hours before we get to where we're going."

Bruce remained frozen for a moment longer, and then he gingerly scooted down the bench away from Tony. Before the engineer could feel slighted, Bruce pulled his legs up onto the cushion. Using some of the spare fabric from the oversized blanket, he fashioned himself a makeshift pillow next to Tony's thigh and lay down.

While the child pulled the rest of the blanket more tightly around himself and curled into a ball, Tony continued to watch. Between the extreme exhaustion and the gentle rocking of the jet, Bruce was asleep in seconds flat. Before long, the tension in the boy's body had vanished, leaving his face as relaxed in slumber as it was when Tony found him in the crater after the battle. It was the first time since then that the kid had looked remotely relaxed.

As Bruce's breathing grew deep and even, Tony returned his attention to his phone.

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this out. It's been a really rough week. Thank you for your patience.

I'm going to be taking some parts from the comic!verse and incorporate it into Bruce's past presented here.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

Bruce didn't stir until the quinjet landed on the helipad on top of Stark Tower. The mild bumping of the aircraft shook the child out of sleep, and his eyelids fluttered open. He sat up slowly and a little stiffly, careful to keep the blanket around his tiny body, and rubbed his eyes blearily.

Tony heard Natasha begin to say something from the pilot's seat, but paused. The billionaire glanced at her to find her watching the little boy seated next to him, a surprisingly warm look on her face. The expression vanished a second later when she looked back at Tony, all business again. Tony smirked at her, knowing that neither of them would ever mention it.

"If you run into any trouble," the assassin began, "_any_ trouble, we'll come as quickly as possible. SHIELD ought to find something on Arnolds within the next day or two. I'll make sure you are kept up to date."

"Don't bother," Tony said with a flimsy wave of his hand. "I can break into SHIELD faster than it'll take for the call to connect."

Natasha narrowed her eyes, which would have made even the toughest of SHIELD agents squeamish. "Keep us updated on anything you find," she said smoothly as she flipped a switch on the control panel. The hatch released, letting in the evening breezes as the ramp lowered.

She turned her eyes toward the child, who was looking curiously out into the open air. "Try to get some more sleep, Bruce," she said gently, which brought the boy's eyes over to her, if only for a moment. "It was nice to meet you."

The boy only offered a small, exhausted smile and a nod.

Tony stood up from his place on the bench and glanced down at Bruce. "C'mon, bud. Let's get inside."

"Oh, and Stark?" Natasha called after him when the man and the boy were closing in on the threshold. Tony glanced over his shoulder at the spy. "Good luck explaining this to Pepper."

Tony made a face, but neglected to comment. He instead ushered the child outside and across the rooftop to the elevator. Bruce, despite his previous exhaustion, was looking around everywhere with an expression of wonderment on his young face.

As soon as the doors closed, the elevator began its descent to the penthouse. JARVIS's voice came over the intercom. _"Welcome back, sirs." _Bruce jumped and glanced upward._ "The cooler and armor are currently being prepared for storage. Agent Romanoff is due for lift-off in roughly two minutes."_

The engineer looked down at the boy, who was staring up at the ceiling. Bruce's brown orbs turned to Tony, as if to gauge how he should be reacting to the disembodied voice greeting them in a confined space.

Tony smiled reassuringly down at the boy. "Not to worry, bud. That's JARVIS, my artificial intelligence." He was delighted to see something like understanding cross the child's face; the kid was _smart!_ "JARVIS, say hi to Bruce."

_"Good evening, Mr. Banner,"_ the AI replied. Tony was relieved that JARVIS didn't call the child "Doctor," just for the sake of not confusing the poor kid any more. _"Shall I send his measurements to Mr. Hogan, sir?"_

"Go for it," Tony replied easily. "I'm sure our guest here doesn't want to spend the next few days in a hospital gown."

_"Very good, sir."_

The engineer nodded to himself for a moment, his dark eyes studying his reflection in the elevator door. His gaze then lowered until he was staring at the reflection of Bruce, who was almost looking dead on his feet again. It would seem like those two hours on the jet weren't enough for the little guy to reenergize. That protein bar probably hadn't helped out all that much, either.

"You hungry, little guy?" he asked, breaking the silence as the elevator began to slow to a stop.

Bruce snapped from his daze with a slight start and glanced up at Tony for only a moment. He shrugged noncommittally.

"Pizza sound good?" Tony asked. When Bruce shrugged again, the engineer frowned to himself. Why wasn't he speaking? Sure, Tony had been taught not to talk to strangers—except when he was being interviewed with his parents—as a kid, but this was getting a little ridiculous. If the boy felt any sense of danger from him, why had he clung to him on the helicarrier, or fallen asleep at his side on the jet? It didn't make sense.

"What toppings would you like, bud?" Tony inquired, bent on getting a verbal response from the child. When none seemed forthcoming for a solid ten seconds, he relented with a silent sigh. "Cheese sound okay?"

Bruce shrugged again, apparently too tired to care.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the penthouse as Tony told JARVIS to place the usual pizza order, sans the veggie pizza in place of a small cheese one. The engineer paused for a moment. "J, where's Pepper?"

_"The meeting with the executives on the thirtieth floor has gone a little over the allotted time; I predict she should arrive to the penthouse within the next twenty minutes,"_ the AI answered.

Tony nodded to himself. That gave him some time to come up with some way to explain all of this to Pepper. He glanced back down at Bruce, who was sticking to his side, but his eyes were still on the move, taking in the new atmosphere in avid, if exhausted, wonder. Brown irises lingered on the window, where Manhattan was lit up against the darkening sky. His eyes took in everything that there was to see.

"Make yourself at home," the engineer encouraged. When Bruce glanced up hesitantly at him, Tony smiled. "I'm going to keep an eye on you for a while, so you'll be staying here with my girlfriend and me."

Before he could go on, JARVIS spoke up. _"Sir, Mr. Hogan is calling."_

The billionaire whipped out his phone and gave Bruce an apologetic look. "I've got to take this. Feel free to look around, get comfortable, the whole shebang." He wanted to get far enough out of earshot so he could answer Happy's sure-to-be confused call, but he didn't want to leave the little guy on his own just yet. "I'll be in the next room if you need me, okay?"

A tiny nod from Bruce was his only response.

Tony stepped into the other room and answered his phone. "What's up, Happy?"

"I just wanted to make sure I got JARVIS's message right," the chauffer replied, voice slowed mildly in his uncertainty. "You need clothing…for a four year old boy?"

"Yep," Tony answered simply, letting the 'p' pop. "Just a little over three feet tall, a little on the scrawny side, probably somewhere between 35 and 40 pounds. Grab maybe a week's worth of casual outfits and the other essentials, including pajamas and shoes."

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line. Tony waited for more questions, but grinned to himself when the next inquiry to come was "Preference of color or style?"

"Let's stick with solid colors for now," the engineer replied.

"You got it, boss," Happy said. "Traffic won't be too great right now. I'll be back in two hours or so."

"You're the man, Happy." Tony ended the call and sauntered back into the room he left the pint-sized version of his lab partner in. He found the child at the window, gazing down on Manhattan with a quietly uncertain look on his face.

Bruce turned when he heard Tony reenter the room. His gaze dropped nervously to the floor and he fiddled with the blanket still around his shoulders.

Tony stared at the kid for a lingering moment, at a loss as to what he should do next. As he slipped the phone back into his pocket, he moved closer to the window. "Have you ever been in Manhattan before?" he asked.

The boy glanced up at him briefly when Tony came to a stop next to him. His eyes returned to the cityscape as he shook his head.

"It's pretty different in the daylight," Tony offered, staring out at the lit up buildings beyond the glass. Another moment of silence passed between the pair before Tony glanced back down at the kid next to him. Bruce continued to stare out the window with a solemn expression. "How about I give you a quick tour before dinner arrives?" the engineer asked.

Another tiny nod was his only answer.

Careful to not let his disappointment show, Tony led the boy slowly around the penthouse, showing the kid the living room and kitchen. He entered his bedroom to grab one of his t-shirts for the kid to wear before he showed Bruce to the guest suite where he would be staying, just down the hall from Tony's. It would have felt odd putting the boy downstairs, where Dr. Banner's floor was. Each of the Avengers had rooms of their own, but none of the others had fully moved in like Bruce had. The others popped in fairly frequently, but they had other homes to return to.

Bruce didn't.

"And this is where you'll be staying," Tony said as he pushed open the door with the hand that wasn't holding the folded shirt. He gestured for the kid to enter the room. "This is the nicer of the two guest suites on this floor, so you should be pretty comfortable here. You'll get a really nice view of the sunrise—or at least, that's what I'm told. I've never actually _watched_ the sunrise from this room… I'm not much of a _sunrise_ kind of guy, but if that's your thing, hey, more power to you."

Bruce said nothing as he slowly entered the room, eyes taking in everything there was to offer.

As the boy cautiously approached the bed, Tony realized it was a little high off the ground—too high for the kid to climb up onto. Bruce's eyes were just barely level with the top of the mattress. "I'll bring you a footstool or something," he said. When the kid glanced over at him with a small spark of amusement in his expression, Tony grinned. "JARVIS, remind me to grab a footstool from the labs before Bruce heads to bed tonight."

_"Yes sir," _the AI responded. Tony tried to keep his grin from widening further when Bruce didn't jump this time at the sound of JARVIS's voice.

The engineer returned his attention to the boy as he also stepped into the room. "You've also got your own in-suite bathroom," he said as he led the kid through a sitting room. He pushed the door open and let Bruce look inside. He made a mental note to grab a smaller footstool to bring in here.

_"Sir, the pizzas have arrived,"_ JARVIS announced.

"Good deal," Tony replied before he glanced back down at the kid. "Why don't you take a look around and get changed out of that gown before we eat. I'm sorry, but that hospital gown has _got_ to go_. _Here." He offered the kid the t-shirt, which Bruce took tentatively. "Happy will be back with some clothes for you a little later tonight, so this'll have to do until then." He grinned when Bruce smiled gratefully up at him. "I'll be back in a few minutes. If you need anything, just ask JARVIS. He'll help you with anything. Right, J?"

_"I live to serve, sir,"_ the AI responded dryly.

Tony rolled his eyes, but he was thrilled to see the boy's smile widen just slightly. "Alright, I'll be right back."

He left the kid in the guest suite and made his way to the elevator. Once the doors were closed, the reality of the situation sunk back in. "JARVIS, keep an eye on him," he said after the elevator had gone down several floors.

_"Of course, sir,"_ JARVIS replied. _"The bots have stored Dr. Banner's blood in the labs, and everything should be ready for testing in the morning."_

At JARVIS's tone, Tony's eyes narrowed slightly. "You sound like you have more to add about that," he accused.

The AI didn't speak as the elevator slowed to a stop, but the doors didn't open. _"My sensors picked up minute radiation levels through the reinforced glass of the vials, sir,"_ JARVIS disclosed after a moment. _"It would appear that young Dr. Banner's blood is still highly toxic."_

Tony stood there, staring at his reflection with unseeing eyes. The kid's blood was still radioactive. "Well," he said slowly, "I'm sure the bastards who took his blood were already fully prepared for that and protected themselves accordingly." He remained where he was for another moment. If Bruce's blood was still radioactive, did that mean that there was a chance of the Hulk still being there, too?

He shook his head to clear out those thoughts. He'd worry about that once he took a look at the blood and the hard evidence. No _way_ was he going to do the same thing that Fury had done and only think about whether the kid had a Hulk in him or not.

_"Might I encourage you to do the same?" _JARVIS cut into the engineer's thoughts._ "Radiation poisoning is _such_ a ghastly way to go, sir, and would lack your usual flare."_

Despite himself, Tony snorted a laugh. "I'll be careful," he promised.

The elevator doors finally opened. _"Thank you, sir,"_ the AI replied before Tony stepped out into the lobby.

The delivery person had already retreated back into Manhattan, and the pizza boxes were left with the receptionist. He flashed the woman a blinding smile as he picked up the food and made his way back to the elevator. As the doors closed, Tony leaned back against the wall. "J, where's Pepper?"

_"She is currently getting her desk prepared for tomorrow morning's meetings," _JARVIS answered. _"She should be ready to leave in a few minutes."_

Without needed prompting, the elevator doors opened on the floor where the office of Miss Pepper Potts, CEO, resided. The rest of the floor was deserted by this time in the evening, and Tony made his way unhampered to her office.

"Knock knock," he called through the closed doors.

"It's open, Tony," Pepper called back.

"My hands are full."

There was a pause before the door swung open. Pepper held open the door with one hand and rested her other upon her hip, giving the man a thoroughly unimpressed look. "You can fight off six robots with one hand, Mr. Stark, but three pizza boxes have you defeated?"

"I'll have you know, Miss Potts, that there is nothing sadder than a smushed Ray's pizza," Tony shot back casually. As the redhead fought the smile that wanted to appear on her face, Tony leaned in a pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "You done for the night?" he asked.

Pepper glanced behind her at her desk. "Give me a minute, and I will be," she answered. She let Tony into her office and walked around her desk to finish wrapping up.

Tony put down the pizzas and took a seat in one of the armchairs off to the side. "So…I take it you know something about the battle in Georgia today?" he inquired.

"There's already an image of Iron Man in mid-fight floating around the internet," Pepper replied efficiently. "It's the only picture someone managed to get before the warzone was quartered off. I take it the Avengers won?"

"Well…" Tony hedged slowly, "about that…"

Immediately, Pepper's focus was completely on the engineer with the kind of intensity that made her such a successful business woman. "What happened?" she asked, point-blank.

Tony held up his hands. "The nut responsible for the robots had some other weapon with him," he explained. "It had some…some _interesting_ effects."

"Oh god," Pepper whispered. "What did it do to you?"

"Not me!" Tony hurried to say. He did _not_ want her thinking he was dying again. "Not me. It, uh… It got Bruce."

For some reason, that made Pepper look even more worried. "Is he alright?" she asked hurriedly.

"I'll let you be the judge of that," Tony answered as he got back to his feet and picked up the pizzas. "You done? I don't want to leave him alone for too long."

Pepper grabbed her purse and jacket and moved quickly around her desk. "What's wrong with him?" she asked again as they exited the office and walked to the elevator. "Is it the Hulk?"

"He, uh…" How had they described it to Fury? "He…kind of got turned into a kid."

There was a long beat of silence that followed that. Pepper just stared at him as the elevator closed and began to lift them up to the penthouse. "He got turned into a kid," she repeated slowly. When Tony nodded, Pepper glanced at the elevator doors, looking contemplative. Another length of silence passed before she spoke again. "I bet he's adorable."

Tony looked over at her. "You're not going to ask if I'm being serious?" he asked, sounding unsure.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "It's not so far-fetched, Tony," she answered calmly. "The man changes into a giant green behemoth on a regular basis. This isn't so strange."

A grin quickly broke across Tony's face. This was one of the reasons he loved her; she could take the most ludicrous things with the kind of grace that really shouldn't have surprised him anymore.

The elevator doors opened, and the couple swiftly stepped into the penthouse. "So, how old is he?" Pepper asked, setting down her purse and slipping out of her heels.

"Four and a half," the engineer replied as he put the pizzas down on the kitchen island.

Pepper immediately bristled and whipped around to face him. "You left a four year old up here by himself?!" she asked, sounding both frustrated and disbelieving.

"Four and a _half,"_ Tony corrected her.

Pepper started to scold him for leaving a four _and a half_ year old child all alone in a completely unfamiliar place, but her tirade suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Tony followed her eyes until he spied a small figure peeking around a nearby corner.

Tony didn't need to know that Pepper was now smiling; he could feel how her smile warmed up the whole room. He grinned over at the kid. "Hey Bruce," he greeted the kid. He saw the boy curiously eyeing the redhead in the women's business suit, and he gestured over at her. "Bruce, this is Pepper. Pepper, Bruce."

As Bruce cautiously skirted around the corner and stepped barefoot into the room, still wrapped up in the blanket, Pepper knelt down, still smiling fully. "Hi Bruce," she said gently. "I've heard you had a pretty eventful day. Tony ordered some pizza; are you hungry?"

The boy looked between the two adults cautiously before he offered a tiny nod.

Pepper gave a single nod of her own before she stood back up. "Why don't you go wash up, and then we'll eat," she said. She then looked pointedly over at man standing next to the counter. "And that goes for you, too, Tony."

Tony raised his hands and moved off in the direction of the sink. "I haven't had a chance to even _do_ anything that would warrant washing up, Pep," he complained just for the sake of being difficult.

When Pepper gave him a look, he held his hands up in submission again. He glanced down at Bruce, who was trying to hide the amused smile on his face. "First thing you need to know about living here, little man," Tony said in a low conspiring tone that he knew his girlfriend could easily hear, "is that Pepper, here, _is_ the boss."

"And don't you forget it," she added serenely as she started setting out plates and napkins.

A quiet laugh sounded. Tony looked down in surprise at Bruce and found that the kid looked equally surprised that he had laughed aloud. Bruce immediately ducked his head, but Tony grinned wide when he caught a smile still on the child's face.

The engineer moved around the island and approached the table to grab a chair. He brought the piece of furniture back to the sink. "Here you go, bud," he said.

After another grateful smile, Bruce climbed up onto the chair, the blanket trailing down his back to pool a little on the floor. As the boy washed his hands, Tony moved off toward the refrigerator. He opened it and immediately zeroed in on the container of apple juice. "Would you like some apple juice with your food, Bruce?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder as his hand closed around the plastic bottle.

Bruce looked over at the man and nodded before he turned off the faucet.

Tony pulled out the juice and placed it on the counter. He then pulled the dishtowel from its spot nearby and handed it to the boy, who smiled again and began to carefully dry his hands.

After Bruce hopped down from the chair, Tony and Pepper both washed up, and before long, they were all seated at the table with a slice of pizza on each of their plates.

"Bruce," Pepper began, "would you like one of us to cut that up for you?" she asked.

Tony looked over in time to see Bruce eyeing the slice of cheese pizza before the kid glanced up at Pepper. The boy looked back down at the food in front of him and nodded a little, not making eye contact.

Without needing to be prompted, Tony picked up Bruce's plate and carried it off to the counter, where the forks and knives were.

As he started cutting up the pizza into smaller pieces, Pepper regarded the blanket curled around the boy. "Are you cold?" she asked. When the boy looked cautiously back at her, she continued. "Is that all you have right now to wear? That blanket?"

"SHIELD gave him a hospital gown," Tony answered instead, knowing that the boy wasn't going to be talking tonight. He peered over at Bruce. "Did you change into the t-shirt I gave you?"

After briefly glancing over at Tony, Bruce spread the blanket out away from his body by opening his arms, revealing the black men's t-shirt with the white _Stark Industries_ logo printed across the chest.

Pepper rolled her eyes over to Tony. "Really?"

"It was the first shirt I grabbed!" Tony protested as Bruce wrapped himself back up again. "Besides, it's only for a while; Happy is out getting him clothes right now." He finished cutting up the pizza and grabbed a fork before he returned to the table, bringing the knife with him.

The meal after that was calm. Pepper and Tony made idle conversation for the sake of keeping the silence away. Whether Bruce listened or not was up for debate, as he kept his eyes low and ate almost mechanically. It was clear that his energy was flagging, but he was hungry enough to eat two full slices. It didn't look like the kid was going to stay awake long enough for Happy to get back with his clothes.

Once they all had had their fill, Tony gathered up the plates and set them in the sink. He knew that Pepper was watching Bruce, who looked like he could probably fall asleep right at the table, and she cast a concerned look toward her boyfriend.

Tony shot his eyes between the two sitting at the table before fixing his gaze on the child. It really wasn't so different than the few hours after Dr. Banner had a rough transformation, he tried to tell himself. Bruce was never very talkative until after the strain of the change had passed.

He hoped that was the reason the boy wasn't speaking.

Bruce startled out of his daze with a jump when Tony cleared his throat, eyes snapping over to the man at the sink.

"Well, what do you think, little man?" the engineer began after breaking the silence. "Time for bed?"

The boy blinked for a moment, still looking a little wide-eyed. He slowly looked down at his lap and nodded.

"Alright, then," Tony said. "Let's get you set up for bed—"

_"Perhaps it would be best if you fetched that footstool from the laboratory, sir?"_ JARVIS cut in.

"Redaction," Tony continued, as if uninterrupted, "_Pepper_ will start getting you set up for bed. I need to make a pit-stop downstairs."

By the time he had returned to the penthouse, Pepper had already gathered a collection of toiletries for the boy, including a toothbrush that she was currently removing from the packaging. The covers had already been pushed back, and he saw that Pepper had laid the SHIELD blanket atop the mattress. A glass of water had been placed on the nightstand next to the bed.

Bruce had been watching her, but his eyes found Tony as soon as he stepped into the guest suite. The t-shirt really was oversized, reaching down past his knees and just barely staying on his narrow shoulders, but he was effectively covered. He was hugging his arms around himself; whether it was because he was cold or anxious, Tony wasn't sure.

Tony smiled when Bruce looked his way and held up the footstools in both of his hands. "These ought to help out a bit," he said, fully entering the room. He set one of the stools down beside the mattress, and then put the other, smaller one in the bathroom. On his way back into the other room, he saw that Pepper had set out toothpaste next to the sink for the boy to use.

As he reached the bedroom, Pepper handed Bruce the toothbrush, who took it gingerly with both hands. "We'll let you get ready," she told him softly. "JARVIS will get the lights for you after you climb into bed. Will you be alright for the night?"

Bruce, who had looked at Tony as he reentered the room, glanced back up at Pepper and nodded a little timidly. He fiddled a little absently with the toothbrush in his hands in a movement that was so similar to his adult counterpart it was jarring.

Pepper smiled at him, full and bright, and she took a step back. "If you need anything, we'll be just down the hall. Sleep well, Bruce."

As she walked out of the suite, Tony started to follow her. "Seriously, bud," he pressed gently. "Come get us if you need anything."

The boy remained frozen for a full second before he actually made full eye-contact with Tony and smiled.

Tony smiled back. "Good night, little guy," he said, walking to the door. "Get some sleep."

Pepper was waiting out in the hall as he pulled the door to the suite shut behind him. She had a mildly concerned look on her face, but kept her silence. Tony glanced back at the door, certain that the boy would hear anything they were to say outside of the room.

The engineer stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Pepper's back and escorted her into the main area of the penthouse. He left her on the other side of the kitchen island as he started to collect the leftover pizza to store in the fridge. "What's on your mind, Pep?" he finally asked.

The redhead moved to the dining table and picked up the cups left behind. "Has he said a word to anyone?" she inquired softly.

With his head in the refrigerator, making room for the pizza boxes, Tony sighed. "As far as I know, he hasn't," he replied, moving food items around. He pulled his head back from the kitchen appliance to shoot her a brief look. "It could be because he's exhausted, physically and mentally. Waking up in a room on the helicarrier in medical is bad enough, but he woke up post-transformation from adult-Hulk and whatever else those chemicals did to him, not to mention the unwilling blood donation he gave." He turned back to the fridge, sliding the pizza boxes inside. "He's had a rough day."

He heard Pepper make a humming sound of agreement somewhere behind him. "Maybe he'll be better after getting a good night's rest," she murmured as she turned on the faucet to rinse out the glasses. "That and maybe some better-fitting clothes."

"Maybe," Tony agreed. He closed the fridge and stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her hips and resting his chin on her shoulder. "How did you get to be so good with kids?"

Pepper didn't bother trying to shake her boyfriend off of her and gave a soft laugh. "Do you know how many younger cousins I have?" she asked, smiling over at him.

"Well, at least one of us has some experience with children," he replied before he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. He stepped up to the other half of the sink and started rinsing off the plates they had used.

They worked together in silence for a few seconds before Tony began to explain the full situation, about the conversation with Fury, about needing to find an antidote, and about how the rest of the team wouldn't be able to watch Bruce for at least a few weeks.

By the time he had finished, they had put the dishes away and were now in their bedroom, Pepper getting ready for bed and Tony just talking. The redhead paused in brushing her hair to glance back over at Tony, who was perched on the edge of the bed and looking weary. "Well, if you don't think he'll want to go down to the lab with you, I don't have any meetings tomorrow afternoon. I can watch him then, if you can watch him in the morning. We'll eat lunch up here tomorrow, and then I'll take him back to my office for a few hours."

Tony looked relieved. "Let me see if he wants to hang out in the lab first. If that's the case, I'll watch him all day. If he's anything like I was as a kid, he'll be thrilled to see a lab, let alone work in one."

Pepper rolled her eyes and returned to brushing her hair. "He's four, Tony."

"Four and a half," he corrected her.

"Four, four and a half," Pepper said, "he's a toddler. What child at that age would be thrilled to work in a laboratory?"

"A genius," Tony answered easily. When she looked back at him, he offered a shrug. "I already know he's brilliant, Pep, even if he hasn't said a word. He just doesn't want anyone to know it."

"He's still a toddler, Tony," Pepper went on. "I'm sure Bruce wasn't interested in nuclear physics at the tender age of four—_and a half,"_ she added when Tony opened his mouth to correct her again.

Tony's shoulders sagged in a near-silent sigh, but he didn't argue.

Another brief stint of silence passed between them before Pepper glanced back over at her boyfriend. "How long do you think it'll take to find an antidote?" she asked.

"It's hard to say at this point," he allowed, running a hand through his hair to rub the back of his neck. "I don't even know what I'm dealing with yet on a molecular level, and the blood samples SHIELD medical took are the first place to start." He stood up from the bed and looked toward the bedroom door. "I should probably get—"

"Oh, no you don't." Pepper came over and pushed Tony back until he sat back down on the bed. "No working on it tonight. Don't think that I forgot about you taking on robots this morning, and you've had no time to actually rest since then." She pressed a kiss to his lips to silence the protest he was beginning to spout. "Sleep tonight," she said against his mouth, "work tomorrow. Okay?"

Tony easily met her eyes with his own. When he saw that she wasn't going to back down, he let out a heavily put-upon sigh of defeat. Pepper smiled and kissed his forehead before she pulled back. "Very good," she praised softly. "Get ready for bed."

Together, they prepared for bed. Tony texted Happy to let him know that the clothes weren't urgently needed tonight, and to thank him (at Pepper's insistence) for going out to get them. Happy shot back a quick response to say that the clothes would be ready in the morning and wished them both good night.

But before he turned in for the evening, Tony sneaked down the hall to peek in on Bruce, just to make sure he had settled in alright. There wasn't any light beneath the door to suggest that the boy was still moving around and he silently cracked the door open.

He couldn't see much of the boy, as Bruce had curled himself up into a tight ball and pulled both the comforter and the SHIELD blanket around him. All he could really see was the messy mop of brown curls upon the pillow. It was the steady rise and fall of the blankets that proved to Tony that the kid was actually fast asleep.

The engineer smiled to himself and pulled the door shut. He stayed where he was for a moment longer before he started to step off toward his and Pepper's bedroom. "JARVIS."

_"Yes sir?"_

"Rest up," Tony replied. "We've got a long day ahead of us."


	5. Chapter 5

Please enjoy a long chapter, as I couldn't figure out a way to break it up. Other chapters probably won't be this long.

I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. Other recognizable things belong to their respective owners. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

By the time Tony woke up the next morning, Pepper was already gone and the spot next to him had long-since turned cold. He sat up slowly as JARVIS began to go through his morning routine, informing him that it was 9:36 AM and the high for the day was to be a comfortable 73 degrees. When the AI finished his normal spiel, Tony was already in the shower.

_ "Miss Potts wished for me to inform you that young Dr. Banner was still asleep when she left this morning," _JARVIS said, _"and seems to have slept soundly through the night."_

Tony immediately paused. Oh…right. His friend was currently four years old. "Um…has he woken up yet?" he asked, unsure of how to approach this situation.

_"Dr. Banner has been awake for the past hour and fourteen minutes, sir,"_ JARVIS replied smoothly. _"He is still in the guest suite you and Miss Potts situated him in yesterday."_

The engineer let the hot water wash over his body as he contemplated his next move. "Is he…okay?"

_"Aside from the fact that he has regressed in age roughly four decades, he appears to be, sir."_

After speeding through the rest of his shower and his morning routine, Tony stepped with purpose toward the guest suite where the young child had spent the night. The door was cracked open and sunlight spilled out into the hall, giving the surrounding walls a warm glow. Taking a deep breath, Tony carefully knocked against the door before he slowly pushed it open. "Bruce?"

The bed was empty and already neatly made, the dull greyish-blue blanket from SHIELD folded with precision at the foot of the mattress. His eyes were drawn to the window, where he found the little guy, curled up on the sill with a book in his tiny hands and basking in the light of the morning sun.

Bruce's eyes lifted from the words on the page to the man in the doorway in one smooth, fluid motion. He was still wearing the oversized t-shirt with the _Stark Industries_ logo across the chest (or in the little guy's case, across his abdomen), and his hair was an unruly mess of curls, but he looked well-rested.

Tony smiled a little, but lingered by the doorframe. "Good morning, bud. Sleep well?"

He watched Bruce carefully place a scrap piece of paper serving as a bookmark between the pages as he nodded. The boy set the tome aside and slid off of the sill and to the carpeted floor, his hands deliberately placed to ensure the shirt wouldn't rise in his descent.

As the child gingerly picked up the book again, Tony leaned against the doorframe. "What'cha reading?" he asked. A quick glance around the room revealed that there was an actual bookshelf in the room, with legitimate _books_. He was honestly surprised to see such archaic things in his highly technologically-advanced tower; he supposed Pepper was to blame for it.

It also struck him that the little guy didn't need glasses, apparently, to read. It made the whole situation sink in a little deeper.

Warily, Bruce eyed him, looking cautious for only a moment before he bowed his head to stare at the floor. He shuffled forward until he reached the engineer, and then held up the book without raising his gaze again.

Tony stared down at the boy, ignoring the book for the time being. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Bruce was expecting to be reprimanded for reading. He frowned at the boy's body language, which just reeked of helpless submission. His eyes moved rather reluctantly to the cover of the book being held up like a sacrifice to appease an angry god.

After reading the title, the engineer felt his eyebrows shoot upward. "You're reading _The Hobbit_?" he asked, both surprised and intensely pleased. Bruce's head immediately whipped up, looking startled at the response and not at all sure how to react.

Tony grinned down at him. "Let me know when you finish this one; I'm sure we have the rest of the series in book form somewhere around here." He silently took note of the child's astonished expression at his words as he leaned forward to see where the bookmark was placed. "Made a bit of headway into it already, I see. You'll love the series, little man; it's great."

The engineer straightened back into a fully standing position, biting back a smile at the look he was receiving from the boy. As Bruce slowly lowered the book, looking for the life of him honestly confused as to why the book wasn't being taken away, Tony examined the child's attire again. "Happy came back with some clothes after you had already gone to sleep. Let me go grab the bags, let you change, and then we can do breakfast. Sound like a plan?"

The poor child looked overwhelmed, but also grateful and vaguely amused, like he didn't know whether to be concerned or to smile at Tony's antics.

No verbal answer seemed forthcoming, so Tony just smiled again and disappeared out of the doorway. "Be right back, bud!" he said, leaving the poor confused boy behind.

After taking a detour to the kitchen to start the coffee machine, Tony began to search the penthouse for the bags of clothing.

He found the clothes in a laundry basket next to the sofa with a note from housekeeping, saying that the clothes had all been washed and were ready to wear. An orange jacket was laid out atop the other clothes, and beside the basket was a tiny pair of tennis shoes. Tony had to bite back a grin when he saw that there were strips of Velcro instead of shoe laces. He knew without a doubt that the little guy would be able to tackle tying shoes—his fine motor skills were far more advanced than any child at that age had a right to be.

Tony carried the basket of clothes back to the guest suite with the shoes hanging from his fingers. He found Bruce still standing where he had left him, and the boy's eyes were on the book cover before they shot up to the engineer as he entered the room.

"So it looks like they've all been washed and are good to go," Tony announced, grinning down at the kid. "Let's put these in the dresser."

It pleased him to no end when Bruce followed him over to the dresser, looking apprehensive but curious. Once Tony set down the basket and the kid saw how much clothing was inside, though, the boy's eyes widened. He turned an alarmed look at Tony, and it was almost unnerving how similar the look was to when the engineer had bought adult-Bruce clothes. It was a look that was just as much surprised as it was overwhelmed and guilty, but beneath all of that was gratitude.

Tony lowered himself to his knees and turned a smile over at Bruce, who was now eye-level with him and holding the book against his chest. "Let's see what Happy picked out for you, little man."

As he laid out each of the pieces of clothing into separate piles, one for t-shirts, another for long-sleeved shirts, and one for pants and shorts, he kept a close gauge on Bruce's expression. It was like the kid didn't know what to do with the knowledge that all of these clothes were for him, like the notion of receiving a gift was completely foreign.

Tony immediately buried the thought. He held up a pair of tiny jeans and focused on that instead. "Man, I wish I could have had clothes like these at your age," he commented with a faint hint of nostalgia. "No such luck in my family, though."

He finished laying out the clothes and put the basket aside. It would seem that Happy had thought of everything. There were socks and undergarments, a small collection of shirts (long and short sleeves), pants and shorts, two separate pairs of pajamas, two sweaters, and the orange jacket.

After making a mental note to thank Happy and the housekeepers, Tony sat back on his heels and inspected the clothes laid out in front of them, knowing that Bruce was doing the exact same thing beside him. "Now then, what would you like to wear today?"

He hadn't expected the boy to look over at him with surprise on his face. Tony looked back at him, trying to figure out why picking out what he was going to wear was a big deal.

But then, a foggy memory from way back when came to mind, when he could have been who knows how old, a memory of Jarvis (kickass butler Jarvis, not kickass AI JARVIS) laying out tomorrow's outfit for him. And then that same Jarvis, gently tucking him in and wishing him a fond goodnight in place of his parents, who were missing from most of Tony's early childhood memories.

Tony blinked out of the thought and returned to the present, and smiled at Bruce. "How about this?" he began. "You just point to whatever you want to wear as I'm putting them away, and that's what you get to wear today. Sound good?"

Bruce blinked at him for a moment, and then a tiny smile crossed his face. The kid ducked his head and nodded, still smiling quietly to himself. Having a choice in what he got to wear seemed to please the little guy, if the smile was anything to go by. The boy was probably still at the age where he just wore whatever was laid out for him by his parents. Being able to make the decision himself was probably a treat.

The engineer nodded. "Alright then, let's start with the pants."

The next few minutes went by with Tony putting each individual piece of clothing away one at a time, but not before holding it up for Bruce to inspect. When the boy chose an article of clothing to wear for the day, he would cautiously point to it, and then shoot Tony a hesitant look, questioning his decision. Tony would then make a comment about the style and set it aside.

"Very chic," Tony said with a nod of high approval as he set the purple long-sleeved shirt aside with a pair of jeans (the same ones Tony had commented on earlier, much to Tony's pleasure). "Purple will bring out the color of your eyes. You have excellent taste, fine sir."

And each time Tony would offer such comments, Bruce would try to fight the grin that threatened to appear.

Once the rest of the clothing was put away with the exception of the chosen clothes and a pair of socks and underpants, Tony rose to his feet. "I'll let you get changed and see what we can have for breakfast. Come on out to the kitchen when you're ready."

Bruce smiled up at him and nodded.

When Tony stepped into the kitchen, he took a deep breath of the heavenly scent of coffee hanging in the air. He took another deep inhale for good measure before he started to look around for something that could pass as breakfast for the kid. Cooking was _definitely_ out of the question. After a quick look in the pantry, he found some cereal and, much to his surprise, a half-full box of Thor's poptarts.

As he was setting the various boxes on the counter, he saw Bruce hesitantly enter the kitchen. The boy looked more comfortable to be wearing actual well-fitting clothing again instead of just a slip to cover his nakedness. It looked like he had washed his face and brushed his hair, as his curls were tamer. He was right about the shirt color bringing out the brown in his eyes.

"Okay," Tony began, stepping back from the boxes to inspect them, like he was admiring a work of art, "here are your choices. You can pick anything here, and I think we also have some fruit in the fridge if you'd like some of that, too. What do you think?" he asked, turning a grin back at the kid.

Bruce looked up at each of the boxes in turn, but it wasn't until he reached the poptart box that his brow furrowed in confusion.

Tony handed the box to the boy for closer inspection. "Do you like blueberries?" he asked. When Bruce gave a tentative nod without looking away from the box, Tony went on. "This is just a breakfast pastry that we stick in the toaster to warm up. You want to give it a try?"

The boy spent another second looking over the box before he glanced up at the engineer, He handed the box back to Tony and nodded.

Tony pulled out a single package and quickly disposed of the silver wrapper before sticking both poptarts into the toaster. While they were heating, he poured Bruce some milk and himself a cup of coffee. He grabbed two paper plates and set them at the table, encouraging Bruce to take a seat at either place.

Before long, they were both seated at the table, waiting for their poptart to cool. As Bruce absently watched the steam coming off of the coffee, Tony contemplated his next move. The blood was now ready to begin testing, and while he hadn't received any word on what SHIELD had found on Arnolds, he could always start looking for anomalies in Bruce's blood sample.

After a few minutes, Tony deemed the poptarts significantly cooled, and they both started eating.

"So, poptarts: yea or nay?" Tony asked after Bruce had taken a few cautious bites of the pastry.

Bruce finished chewing and made a sort of "meh" face that made Tony want to laugh.

"Thor's girlfriend got him hooked on them," Tony explained. "She's an astrophysicist, you see, and these are just something quick to eat while she's in the lab." He took a sip of coffee and watched the boy carefully. "Have you ever been in a lab before?" he asked nonchalantly.

The kid shook his head and reached for his small glass of milk.

"Would you like to see one?" Tony inquired.

Immediately, Bruce's hand froze and he looked straight over at Tony. They stared at each other for a lingering moment before the boy retracted his hand and leaned slightly back in the chair, as if curling into himself. His head bowed to watch his hands fiddle nervously in his lap.

Tony winced at the reaction his question had gotten. "It's okay," he tried to soothe. "I was only asking if you wanted to see one. We don't have to go." When Bruce looked up, hesitation and anxiety written clearly upon his face, Tony offered a reassuring smile. "It was only a suggestion. We don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Okay?"

It baffled him, Bruce's reluctance to see the lab. The boy had been positively eager to look at everything he had seen so far, be it the helicarrier and jet or Manhattan's skyline. He couldn't fathom why Bruce wouldn't want to look at the lab.

Still, he didn't push it, and when Bruce nodded a little in hesitant relief, Tony smiled. "Go on and finish your breakfast, and then we'll find something to do."

That relief doubled when Tony didn't press the issue further, and the kid relaxed with a tiny and grateful smile.

They spent a few calm minutes together after that in a comfortable hush. It was broken by JARVIS. _"Sir, you have an incoming call from Agent Barton."_

Tony pulled his phone from his pocket and accepted the call. "Miss me already, Bird Feathers?" he answered.

"Well, everyone else is already gone, and it's awful lonesome here, several thousand feet above the ocean," Clint's voice came through, completely deadpan, which made Tony smirk. "Before everyone went off, though, we were able to talk with Fury about pushing back some of the more non-urgent missions. We're still looking at non-stop missions for at _least_ a week and a half, but after that, Steve, Nat, and I ought to be around more to help with Bruce."

Tony felt his eyebrows rise without his permission. "Seriously?"

"That's the game plan right now, barring no new urgent mission pops up," Clint answered. "How is he? Has he started talking yet?"

"No, not yet," the engineer replied, casting an eye over at the boy in question, who was looking curiously at the cell phone in Tony's hand. "We're just finishing up breakfast." He held the phone a few inches away from his ear and smiled down at Bruce. "Clint's asking about you and says hi."

The kid smiled and offered a tiny hand-wave, looking adorably shy.

Tony grinned and pressed the phone back to his ear. "Bruce gives you a smile and a wave of greeting."

The huff that crackled through his speaker sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Well, you remembered to feed him, so it looks like you're a decent-enough babysitter."

"Decent-enough human being, more like," Tony replied, not rising to Clint's teasing.

Before Clint could respond again, there were muffled voices in the background of the call. It sounded like the phone was jostled for a moment, and he heard Clint's distant voice answering. The phone jostled again. "Okay, so my jet's almost ready," the archer said once he got back on the line. "I'll send you the info SHIELD pulled on Arnolds in a second. Hill sent out a few agents to take a look around his last known home address not long ago. Any luck with the blood samples?"

"Haven't had a chance to start testing them yet," Tony answered. "When I find something, I'll shoot out a text."

"Thanks," Clint replied. There was another muffled voice behind him. "Alright, I have to head out. Text us if something happens."

"You bet," Tony assured. "Go get 'em."

He heard Clint snort a laugh before the line went dead.

They finished their breakfast in the returned coziness of the quiet morning. As Tony was clearing the table, Bruce hopped down from the chair and wandered off. It didn't concern the engineer all that much, as there were only a few places the kid could actually get to on this level, and JARVIS was keeping an eye on him. Still, when he asked where the boy had disappeared to, the AI's only response was that Bruce was practicing good dental hygiene.

Tony was pouring himself a second cup of coffee when Bruce came back, _The Hobbit_ in his tiny hands and a small dab of toothpaste on his chin. The engineer offered the boy a napkin when he pointed it out, and Bruce took it with a sheepish smile.

They decided to spend the morning together reading. At first, the boy shot tentative glances over at Tony, as if he was still expecting to be reprimanded for wanting to read. Tony feigned ignorance, and the kid finally relaxed.

Before long, they were both settled in the living room, each reading quietly to themselves. Bruce had curled up in the armchair, nestled against an armrest with the book resting against his legs. Tony was on the sofa, half-lying and half-sitting across the cushions, reading over the information Clint had sent him about their defeated villain from yesterday's battle. There were the termination papers that Bruce had read off from the quinjet before transforming and consequently being turned into a kid, but they didn't offer anything new. He continued to pour over each document.

So intent was his focus that he didn't realize that Bruce had gotten up until there was a light tap on his shoulder. Tony looked up from his tablet and glanced over to find the kid next to him, holding the book. "Hey, little man," he said with a smile, realizing about an hour had passed. "Everything okay?"

Bruce carefully held the book up for him to see, and then pointed to a word. When the boy's deep brown eyes turned back to him, Tony leaned in to read the indicated text.

"Parapet?" he repeated, glancing over at Bruce, who nodded. "A parapet is like a wall that goes around a ledge to keep things from falling over. Like…have you ever been over a bridge?" The boy nodded again. "Well, those rails on the sides that make sure a car doesn't go over the side? That's a parapet."

Bruce turned the book back around and reread the sentence the word appeared in, and understanding dawned on his face. He smiled up at Tony, looking both pleased and thankful.

Tony grinned in return and watched Bruce contently go back to his seat and return to reading. The engineer watched him for a moment longer before he, too, returned his attention to his tablet.

* * *

The sound of the elevator door opening brought them both back to the present, making them look up in unison from their reading. The clicking of heels echoed through the penthouse, and it was then that Tony realized it was after noon.

Pepper rounded the corner and paused, simply glancing at the homey scene between the man and the boy. She had her hair held back in a neat ponytail, and her white suit was flawless. Cradled in the crook of her arm was a powered-down tablet, meaning she probably had things for Tony to sign during lunch.

A warm smile appeared on her face at the scene before her, and she crossed the room. "Did you boys enjoy a relaxing morning?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Tony answered, grinning happily as she pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. "Meetings go smoothly?"

Pepper held up her tablet and gave it a waggle. "I have several new forms for you to sign in regards to them, Mr. Stark."

Tony groaned and flopped bodily back against the sofa. He turned a helpless look over at Bruce, who was watching the exchange between the adults with a small smile on his face. "Do you hear her?" the engineer asked, even as Pepper started walking off toward the dining table. "She's on her lunch break, and she's still working. Workaholism is a serious problem, Pep, one that affects far too many citizens in this fair country."

"Just because you're afraid to actually work and be a part of your own company does not mean you get to belittle those who aren't," the redhead replied, "_especially_ the CEO of _your_ company."

Tony turned a skeptical look at Bruce that Pepper couldn't see. "Workaholism," he said again, and Bruce grinned a little.

When Pepper didn't deign that with a response, the engineer rolled off of the couch and grinned over at Bruce. "Well, since _we're_ not going to be working during _our_ lunch, does leftover pizza sound alright?"

As Bruce set the book aside and slid off of the armchair, he nodded.

"Pep? Pizza?" Tony asked, looking over at her.

"Sure," she replied without looking up from the tablet.

Within minutes, the three of them were seated at the table with both drinks and steaming pizza slices. Pepper had set her tablet aside as Tony was cutting up Bruce's lunch and she regarded the boy. "Are you feeling better today, Bruce?" she asked.

Bruce, who had been watching Tony's hands maneuver the knife to slice his food, glanced over at Pepper. He smiled and gave a timid nod.

Pepper smiled back. "A good night's sleep and some clothes seemed to have done the trick then," she said pleasantly.

"That, and some awesome company this morning," Tony added, placing Bruce's plate in front of the boy.

Pepper rolled her eyes, and Bruce grinned.

* * *

Lunch was spent in very much the same fashion as last night's dinner: Pepper talking with Tony, Tony's often-witty replies, and Bruce's silence. While he didn't look like he was about to pass out over his food, it still concerned the redhead that the boy wasn't speaking yet. He seemed to have relaxed a little bit in their company, Tony's especially, but the child's reluctance to speak made her uncomfortable. It wasn't completely the boy's shyness (and he was obviously very shy), but something more; she couldn't put her finger on it, and she didn't like that.

While Bruce was out of the kitchen to use the restroom, Pepper turned a concerned look at Tony. "Is he still not speaking at all?" she asked softly.

Tony frowned, but didn't pause in rinsing off the plates. "No," he answered, "but it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since he changed. He might just not be comfortable enough around us yet to actually speak."

From the look on his face, she knew that he was aware of how far he was grasping for an explanation.

The engineer sighed. "Don't pressure him into speaking," he requested softly, putting down the plates and finally looking at her. "He's still getting used to his surroundings and to us, and I told him we wouldn't make him do anything that would make him uncomfortable. He's obviously made the choice not to speak to us for the time being, and I don't want to push."

The couple watched each other for a lingering moment before Pepper offered a nod.

Before she had a chance to reply, the sound of soft footsteps informed them of the boy's return into the kitchen. Bruce immediately froze when he saw how serious the two adults were, and he looked nervously between them.

Tony clapped his hands together and smiled. "Good," he announced. He looked down at Bruce. "Alright, kiddo, here's the game plan for the afternoon. I have some work that I need to get done in the lab, so Pep's going to keep an eye on you in her office. That sound good to you?"

The boy glanced slowly from the engineer and over to the redhead. Pepper remembered what Tony had told her about when he had needed to leave Bruce with Thor yesterday, and she worried that the child wouldn't want to be separated from Tony for any length of time.

The worry was short-lived, for Bruce didn't make a fuss and instead just nodded a little. When his eyes settled on the floor, that worry turned into concern.

"It's only for a few hours," Tony said reassuringly, "but if you want to come with me to the lab, I'd be more than happy to have you."

The boy was quick to shake his head and take a step closer to Pepper.

A few scant minutes later, after Bruce had put on the tiny shoes that Happy had picked up and grabbed the book he had been reading, they were ready to head downstairs. Tony took the elevator with them, and gave the boy an easy smile when the door opened on one the R&D levels.

"I'll swing by the office to pick you both up at six," he promised as he stepped backwards out of the elevator.

_"I'll make sure he remembers, Miss Potts,"_ JARVIS added.

Pepper smiled to herself when Tony rolled his eyes, and her smile widened a little more when she saw a tiny grin on the boy's face.

"Six o'clock!" the man called as the elevator doors shut.

As the elevator started to descend back toward where her office stood, Pepper gave a small huff of a laugh. "He's a goofball," she said, unable to keep the fondness from warming her words.

Bruce glanced up at her and smiled in agreement.

A moment later, the elevator slowed and the doors slid open. There were a few people around, but everyone was busy enough not to notice that the CEO of the company was escorting a small boy to her office. Bruce stayed close to her, looking around nervously at his new surroundings.

She ushered him into her office before she let the door shut behind her. A smile crossed her face as she took in her domain, as the child below was doing. There were a few plants dotted throughout the room, and behind the desk was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. It was a large office, but with the decorating she had insisted on doing herself, it was cozy and homey.

"Well, have a look around and make yourself at home, Bruce," she said, breaking the silence and glancing down. She stepped around him and made her way to her desk, peering briefly behind her at the boy.

Bruce was looking up at the framed pictures lining the wall nearest him, hugging his book to his chest, and slowly started to walk around the room.

Pepper watched him for a few moments after she had sat down at her desk and logged back into her PC. Another small smile found its way to her lips; Tony had told her about how curious Bruce had been on the helicarrier and jet. It seemed like her office warranted the same sort of examination.

He was behind her, looking out the window at the city below, when there came a gentle rapping at her door. Her personal assistant Amber stepped into the room, a young woman with a kind face, with a cup of tea in one hand and a copy of _The New York Times_ under her arm.

"Good afternoon, Miss Potts," Amber greeted her. "PR found this article in _The Times_ this morning during your meetings, and left the paper with me." She went to go place the business section in front of the CEO, but abruptly paused when she saw the little boy, who was now standing behind Pepper's chair. "Oh! I didn't realize you had company."

Bruce's hand found the edge of Pepper's jacket and gripped it, hiding a little more behind the chair.

There were some adults who would be offended by that, but her PA only chuckled fondly before she set the newspaper down. "Nephew?" she asked.

Pepper smiled. "Something like that," she replied vaguely.

Amber only smiled again and didn't push. She gently set down the cup of tea and left the office.

Pepper glanced down at Bruce, who was still hiding behind her chair. "It's okay, sweetie, she's gone."

The boy hesitantly looked up at her and relaxed when he saw her warm smile.

As Pepper started getting back to work, the child finished his exploration of the room. He settled into one of the comfy armchairs and opened his book.

After maybe an hour of reading, Bruce got back up and went to go look back out the window.

The poor thing was probably getting bored, Pepper realized as she had watched the boy sit down at the window. She looked around her desk for something to keep the child occupied, and her eyes fell to the newspaper on the corner.

"Bruce, do you like puzzles?" she asked as she picked up the newspaper. When she turned her chair around to look at him, the boy was watching her with a cautious expression on his young face. His nod was hesitant.

After flipping through the paper, she found the games section. "There are a couple of puzzles in here that you can do, if you'd like."

Bruce slowly stood up and approached her, eyes going over each of the different puzzles on the page as she held out the paper. When he looked back up at her, he looked unsure as to why she was making the offer. It made Pepper's chest ache a little to see such a cautious look on a child's face, especially since this child was a close friend.

Still, she smiled and reached back onto her desk to grab a pen. "You're welcome to do them," Pepper encouraged, holding out the pen with the newspaper section. As Bruce hesitantly took them, looking over the items with something like reverence, the redhead pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out an unused pad of paper.

"I like to have some scratch paper for some of the word games on hand," she explained when he looked back up at her.

The boy slowly took the notepad from her hand. There was a pause when he just looked over each of the items she had just given him, but when he glanced back up at her, he had a happy smile on his face.

Pepper couldn't help but smile in return, and her eyes followed the boy as he went back to the window. He laid everything out with careful movements, and then he laid out on his stomach and began pouring over the games section of the newspaper.

She watched him for a moment longer before her phone rang, and she got back to work.

* * *

"…huh."

Tony stared at the holograph, unable to offer any other sort of comment on what he was looking at. He had been down in the laboratory for a few hours, working diligently on getting the blood sample ready for testing. JARVIS and the bots were assisting as much as they could, and with all of their efforts, they managed to get a small sample properly prepared, which was now sitting on the microscope. The image had been blown up into holograph form, and Tony could only stare.

He had never seen Bruce's blood before, not on a microscopic level. He knew that Bruce had a serious problem with other people studying his blood, and for very good reason. There were a number of people who would do just about anything to get their hands on a sample, and not for the betterment of mankind. In the few months that the team had been working together, they had already managed to avert a kidnapping attempt by hired professionals. While they hadn't been able to connect the plot to the US Army, they all knew without a doubt that one General Ross had planned the caper. Ross wanted Bruce's blood, consequences be damned.

And looking at the sample now, Tony was both relieved that Ross hadn't had a chance to actually _get_ Bruce's blood, and downright confused by what he saw.

Tony Stark didn't _do_ confused.

There were tests being done, monitored by JARVIS, all around him on different samples, but Tony was focused on the image of blood cells being displayed in front of him. The shape of the cells was _mostly_ normal looking, but there were a few that looked…_different._ Deformed, even. There were a few that were shaped correctly, but then there were the others that looked lopsided.

And then there was the color.

Green blotches were attached to the red blood cells where the deformities were on each of the cells. The two different colors didn't mesh together at all; where the red ended, the bright green instantly began. Tony knew for certain that the green he was looking at was the Hulk's most basic level of being.

On top of that, Tony had to ensure that the lab was ready to handle the radiation levels present in Bruce's blood, for which the AI thanked him for. The crimson substance was highly toxic, so toxic it was a wonder that Bruce was even still alive.

JARVIS had ensured that all safety precautions were made, and Tony had prepared himself as much as he could.

Nothing had prepared him for this.

There was a long silence in the lab in which only the whirring of equipment and the bots could be heard. Tony's eyes continued to take in what he was looking at, starting to feel a little overwhelmed. He had no idea how to even begin.

_"…Perhaps it would be wise to await the test results on the other samples before you start to analyze his blood cells, sir,"_ JARVIS said after a few more silent moments. _"There is a possibility of finding the chemical components of Arnolds' weapon there."_

Tony wasn't sure how they'd be able to find anomalies in Bruce's blood that were a result of the chemicals if he didn't understand Bruce's blood to begin with. "And we don't have a basis of comparison, do we?" he asked.

_"I'm afraid not,"_ the AI replied. _"Dr. Banner has done no experimentation on his blood while under this roof."_

A long breath of air escaped from the engineer's body at the news. He would be working blind. "Alright then, that'll just make things more interesting. J, when the test results come back, start doing a cross-analysis against the information Clint sent over this morning. Maybe that'll get us somewhere."

_"Yes sir."_

While the tests continued to run, Tony started rereading the information SHIELD had found on Arnolds. There hadn't been any further updates yet, but he had a feeling that he'd be updated again within the next twenty-four hours. Knowing how Fury felt about the whole situation, he'd want this resolved as quickly as possible.

He perked up when JARVIS spoke up again, later. _"Sir, it is now 5:40. Might I suggest you start cleaning up if you wish to keep your promise to meet Miss Potts and young Dr. Banner on time?"_

Tony glanced at the closest display, eyes narrowing in on the time. Sure enough, a few hours had passed, and it was almost time to head downstairs. "How much longer should those tests take?" he asked as he closed down the file.

_"The radiation is making the testing process take a bit more time than expected, sir," _the AI explained, _"but my rough estimation puts completion of testing at close to 9:15 tonight."_

"Let me know when it's done, and send the results to my tablet," the engineer said as he stood.

A quick cleanup around the lab was done, assisted by both DUM-E and U. They had both been surprisingly helpful today—he supposed it could be blamed on their fondness for adult-Bruce. He only wished that they were this helpful more often.

The elevator trip was quick, and he was at Pepper's office with a few minutes to spare before his six o'clock deadline. He gave the door a knock, and then entered before anyone could answer.

Pepper was at her desk, putting a few documents in order so she wouldn't be behind in the morning. Bruce was seated on the armchair, still reading _The Hobbit_ just as avidly as he had been earlier in the day.

They both looked up at the door in unison when he opened the door, and he grinned. "Hey," he said. "Ready to blow this joint?"

Pepper offered a smile as she stood up, a file folder in her hand. "In just a few minutes," she answered, circling the desk and approaching him. She then turned a smile over at the boy. "Bruce, we'll be right back, okay? I just need to run this down the hall really quick."

Bruce nodded and returned to his reading.

Tony held the door open for Pepper, and then closed it once they were both out in the hall. He pressed a quick kiss in greeting to her lips. "How did it go?" he asked softly as they started to walk down the hall.

Pepper smiled at him again. "He's a sweetheart," she said fondly. "He just read, did the puzzles in _The Times,_ and looked out the window." She laughed a little. "He fell asleep for a little bit, too."

They came to a stop at the main desk on the floor, where she set down her folder. Her expression then turned a little more serious. "Any luck?"

A sigh made its way past his lips. "Not quite," Tony answered quietly as they turned to start making their way back to her office. "JARVIS is still running the tests, but his blood is…it's like something out of science fiction." Pepper frowned in concern, so he quickly went on, stopping just outside of her office. "Hopefully there'll be something in the results that can isolate the chemicals that did this. SHIELD is still—"

_"Pardon the interruption,"_ JARVIS cut into their conversation hesitantly and quietly, _"but the young doctor has just placed an outgoing call."_

Tony and Pepper exchanged startled glances. He caught her as she turned to go back into her office. "Hang on, wait a second," Tony said in a rushed whisper. "JARVIS, give him a disconnected sound bite."

_"No need, sir. The number he was trying to reach has been out of service for roughly thirty-five years, according to phone records," _the AI replied.

The engineer's eyes moved to study the door to the office, where beyond the doors the boy was most likely replacing the phone receiver and ending the call. "Who was he trying to call, J?"

A portion of the wall next to the couple lit up. _"Running a search now,"_ JARVIS answered as the screen displayed a list of results being narrowed down, first by area code, then by year. _"The dialed number was to a residence in Dayton, Ohio, for one Dr. Brian Banner and Rebecca Banner. The number was inactivated approximately thirty-five years ago."_

As the screen faded back into the wall, Pepper slowly glanced over at her boyfriend, who was looking down in reflection. "Poor thing is probably calling his mother," she said quietly. When Tony didn't reply, she glanced back at the door. "I'm going to check on him before he places another call that actually connects."

Tony looked up. "Alright, Pep," he said, loud enough to surely be heard from within the office. Pepper looked back at him with a raised brow, and he offered a light shrug. "Figured the little guy would like some time to situate himself and pretend he never used your desk phone," he added quietly.

A small smile graced the CEO's lips for a moment. She moved toward the door, her heels clicking against the floor, with the engineer behind her.

Sure enough, when they reentered the office space, Bruce was exactly where he had been, pouring over the text as if he had been doing that the entire time. Upon closer inspection, though, they could see the slight expression of distress on his face.

* * *

They had a dinner of some seafood and broccoli pasta dish that Pepper had ordered for them; she had insisted on a vegetable to make it onto the menu, and Bruce had picked broccoli. It was very much like the other meals, but Bruce's silence was laced with an underlying feeling of concern permeating off of the child.

It was quickly squashed out by Tony, who managed to get the kid smiling again. From the look that Pepper sent him, he knew that she was thankful for his actions.

There was a brief problematic moment when Pepper brought up the topic of bathing, and the boy had been absolutely mortified when they offered their assistance. Tony was equally uncomfortable with the idea, but was relieved when Pepper took control of the situation. She was the one to make sure the bath water was at the right temperature, and then brought him a plastic cup to help him rinse his hair. They both asked JARVIS to keep an eye on the boy.

When Bruce came back out to the penthouse, perfectly clean and in one of the pairs of pajamas, Tony had frowned a little. It surprised him that the boy was able to bathe himself without the help of an adult. Pepper had been equally thrown, but made no comment.

They spent about an hour together after that before Bruce started yawning. Tony and Pepper walked him to his room and bid their good nights.

After Bruce had fallen asleep, Tony and Pepper discussed the plan for tomorrow. There were more meetings the next day that the CEO could not reschedule, but there was some time in the afternoon that she could watch Bruce. It gave Tony a three hour window to get some lab time in.

And when the results appeared on his tablet at 9:12 that night, he knew that he'd need every minute of it. He knew he couldn't spend the entire night in the lab like he could have done if he wasn't babysitting in the morning. Pepper hadn't even needed to see the results to know that he needed to get to the lab for a bit. She gave him a midnight curfew, and he got to work.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. Other recognizable things belong to their respective owners. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

The next couple of days passed in a similar fashion. Tony would spend the morning with Bruce, trying to find things to occupy themselves that didn't involve lab work. They would alternatively play board games or read together in the hours before lunch, and then if Pepper didn't have meetings in the afternoon, she'd take the boy with her to the office for a few hours. All three of them would then spend some time together after dinner before Bruce went to bed and Tony retreated back down to the lab to keep working.

Bruce seemed alright with the daily schedule, but the more time that passed, the more withdrawn he seemed to become. While he hadn't placed anymore outgoing phone calls when Pepper stepped out of her office for a moment, it was obvious that the kid knew something was up. He had taken to just staring out the window at the city in Pepper's office more often than not, questions probably buzzing through his young mind.

Not once, though, did the boy ask why he hadn't been able to contact his parents. He never fussed; he always managed a feeble smile for the two adults watching him, and never fought them or cried or _anything. _The kid was just passive, floating through each day as homesickness and distress continued to weigh him down. It pained Tony to see Bruce like this, and he doubled his efforts to make the kid relax, to coax him out of his shell a little, to get him to _talk._

And while his efforts were met with some success, the boy refused to speak. Tony had heard the kid huff a tiny laugh maybe two or three times, but overall, the silence remained. It had been worrisome before, but now it was downright alarming.

Pepper had expressed her growing concerns regarding the boy, but what could they do? They couldn't force the child to speak, and they couldn't force him to relax.

So Tony put forth an extra effort to help Bruce out. The poor kid was still overwhelmed at times by the sheer force of Tony's personality, but the engineer was able to lift some of the weight off of the boy's shoulders. One morning, he taught Bruce how to play Uno, which the child quickly took to with great skill. They played it that night with Pepper, and the bickering between the two adults made Bruce laugh freely for the first time.

The tension in the air was significantly less smothering when Bruce went to bed that night, but there was still that far-away look in his eye when the door to the room was shut.

* * *

Four days, Tony had been working, and he was still at a loss.

He had spent the afternoon in the lab, not even stopping for dinner, and he _still_ wasn't any closer to figuring out how to return Bruce to his normal, adult self. It was close to eight o'clock when he finally returned to the penthouse, though he was far from finished working. New test results had come back, and he wanted to sort through all of the new information tonight so he could start fresh tomorrow.

Pepper had watched Bruce all afternoon and through the evening. When Tony had texted her to see how everything was going upstairs, she had replied that Bruce was watching a movie in the main room and she was just down the hall, still working as well. The boy was curled up on the sofa with his blanket wrapped around him, his attention focused on the Disney movie that was playing on the large screen. Pepper had told Tony to keep working, as Bruce would probably go to bed shortly after the film was over.

As he stepped off of the elevator into the penthouse, Tony took another sip of coffee from his half-empty Stark Industries mug without taking his eyes off of his tablet. The data on Bruce's blood work was frankly fascinating, but even the scientist in him was deeply disturbed by how off the substance was from a normal human being's blood. He really had no idea how to proceed with the information given to him; he had nothing to serve as a basis for comparison. He could only hope that perhaps with another, more recent blood sample, he'd be able to analyze it and narrow down any substances that had decreased with time. Maybe then they'd have the chemical agent that had caused the physicist's mind and body to suddenly revert to that of a four year old.

He enlarged one of the graphs JARVIS had provided in his analysis. He was really loath to admit it, but he'd probably need to take a new blood sample from the little guy. He didn't want to subject the kid to that, not if he could help it. He was running out of other options, though.

Tony frowned down at the data on the screen as he continued to walk forward, paying very little regard for his surroundings and—

It came as a complete surprise to him when his feet suddenly tangled in something on the ground, and he heard a tiny gasp below him as his body pitched forward. The tablet and the coffee cup went flying from his hands as he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Shattering glass and the splatter of coffee, followed by the _thunk_ of both the tablet and his body hitting the ground broke the silence in the air.

Even as the tablet bounced and came to a rest further away (he built those things to be durable, damn it), Tony groaned and pushed himself up onto his elbows. "What the hell…?" he grumbled as he turned to see what had tripped him up.

He felt his eyes widen.

The fabric of the SHIELD blanket was tangled up around his ankles. Two of the edges of the blanket were lined up evenly, like someone had been trying meticulously to fold the fabric with the utmost care and precision before Tony had crashed onto the scene.

That someone turned out to be the tiny form of Bruce Banner, kneeling on the ground and staring at Tony in unadulterated panic. His tiny hands were raised helplessly, like he had failed to catch the falling man or warn him. It looked like he was holding his breath, too frightened to even breathe. His eyebrows were deeply furrowed over his brown eyes—

—that were rapidly turning green.

"Oh no…" Tony mumbled as Bruce suddenly started drawing shaky, rapid gulps of air and his hands began quivering. "Bruce, it's okay," he tried to reassure the boy as he disentangled himself from the blanket and sat himself upright. "Bruce, it's—"

The child immediately launched himself away from Tony and began to scramble backward without taking his blazing green eyes off of the man. He looked dangerously close to tears and downright petrified. The skin across his cheeks flushed green, the color spreading like wildfire across the rest of his shaking body.

"Bruce, no, you're okay!" Tony tried again frantically. "You're okay, I'm okay; we're all okay here!" He wanted to soothe the boy, take away whatever it was that had scared him so much and make it right. "No one's hurt," he said, unconsciously reaching for the child to help him.

There was a solitary moment where the boy's green face was the very picture of terror, but it very quickly vanished into the ether. Bruce's body instantly began to transform, faster than Tony had ever seen. The child's shoulders widened and the seams of his shirt tore, exposing the rippling green muscle underneath. His body grew, not quite as dramatically as a normal transformation entailed, but the difference was clearly apparent. Before the engineer knew it, it was a miniaturized Hulk pressed against the wall of—

_"Get away from me!"_

The shrill screech made Tony draw his hand back unexpectedly, like he had been scalded. The man stared at the shrunken alter-ego of his friend, at a loss for words. The desperate terror he had seen on Bruce's face was now hidden behind a thick layer of hatred, rage, and…something he couldn't quite identify. His vibrant green eyes were locked with Tony's in a heated glare and his youthful face was twisted into a vicious snarl, lips pulled back to reveal clenched teeth. The child had come to a stop in his backward movements and now sat rigidly, as if daring Tony to make a move toward him.

The Hulk drew a few rapid breaths through his teeth, the air going in with sharp hisses, as the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps across the floor.

Pepper rushed into the room, her declaration of "Tony, what happened?!" getting cut short when her eyes froze on the kid-sized Hulk and her boyfriend on the ground in a staring contest, neither of them bothering to look at her. She came to an immediate stop and took in the scene in wide-eyed silence.

A heavy tension hung over the trio, so thick it was suffocating. Tony was still trying to wrap his head around the first words he had heard from his youthful guest these past four days and trying to find a way to diffuse the situation before they learned first-hand if the green kid had retained any of the super-human strength of his adult counterpart.

Tony started to cautiously shuffle a little closer, but immediately stopped when the Hulk let out a biting snarl and backed himself up into the corner of the room. That emotion that he was hiding beneath the hatred and rage flashed a little brighter for a moment when he realized he had trapped himself in a corner, but it disappeared when the anger washed back over his face.

"You're alright, bud," Tony said in what he hoped was something akin to his easy manner. "You're not hurt, are you?" He made to move just a little closer.

"Tony…" Pepper murmured in a low warning voice.

The engineer ignored her and instead kept his eyes locked on the green ones glaring back at him. "I didn't accidentally kick you on my fall to the floor, did I?" He knew he hadn't and that he was just beginning to ramble at this point, but the silence was otherwise deafening, and he wanted to calm the Hulk down. He moved a little closer on his knees. "Are you—?"

The muscular green child tried to scoot back further, and then remembered that he had cornered himself. His attempts to flee thwarted, he returned with full force to the offensive. His hands clenched into tight fists and he leveled a glare on Tony that would make even some SHIELD agents squeamish. "Get away from me," he repeated in a low, vicious growl.

"I just want to make sure you're not hurt," Tony demurred smoothly and inched closer.

The boy let out something that would have most certainly been an earth-shattering roar in his adult body. _"Leave me __**alone**__!"_ A green fist smashed against the wall to emphasize the booming demand.

His hand went straight through the wall.

The furious glare ended abruptly. The green child's eyes immediately shot to where his arm disappeared into the wall. The look of shock that appeared on his face as he stared at the hole, cracks appearing all around the newly formed hole, would have been comical had the situation been completely different. The surprise lasted only a second before he quickly pulled his hand back and cradled it toward his broad chest, not in pain, but in obvious confusion. His green eyes lingered on the damage he had caused for a moment before he turned wide eyes toward Tony.

As the child tried to push himself further into the corner, Tony tried to inch his way forward again. "Is your hand okay? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" he asked. He extended a hand toward the boy, an invitation to come closer.

The Hulk flinched at the movement and a small, frightened noise escaped from the boy's cowering body.

And suddenly, that hidden emotion beneath the hatred and anger was clear as day. Tony felt his mouth go dry and his heart clench painfully. The kid was terrified. The hatred, the rage…it was all a show to put off anyone who threatened him. The Hulk considered him a threat…the little guy was expecting to be punished for tripping him and for putting a hole in his wall.

And not _verbally_ punished…

He had to stifle a tiny sob of dismay.

The engineer carefully withdrew his outstretched palm and sat back on his heels, never taking his eyes away from the now frightened green ones meeting his steady gaze. "It's okay, bud," Tony said quietly, the words coming out sounding a little hoarse. "It's okay. No need to be scared. It's alright."

His words were meant to calm the poor frightened child, but they seemed to have an opposite effect. The boy's eyebrows furrowed and his breathing hitched. Not only did he now look openly terrified, but a thick layer of confusion was writ across his features, making him look very helpless.

Tony very slowly held up his hands in a submissive gesture, not letting his eyes stray away from the green irises, filled with fear, staring straight back at him. "Bruce…Hulk…bud, I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently in a soft voice. "I would never do anything to hurt you. I'm…I'm not going to hit you." His voice grew tight at that. He drew a strained breath and continued with some difficulty. "I am not angry at you, bud. I am not going to hurt you, I swear, and I'll do my very best to make sure no one ever does."

A lump made itself known in his throat when he saw the sheen of wetness appear in the green child's eyes. He looked so confused, so lost, and so very, very afraid. Tony interpreted the look with heart-wrenching ease. The little guy hadn't expected this situation; he hadn't expected for the adult not to fly into a fit of fury and fists. For the child not to be confronted with what he was _obviously_ accustomed to, all of his defenses were shot down, leaving him open and very vulnerable. He had no idea how to react, like he couldn't comprehend that Tony wasn't about to hit him.

"No one is mad at you, bud," Tony continued his mantra. "I'm not going to hit you; I'm not going to hurt you." He slowly twisted his arm until he was cautiously reaching toward the child again, palm upward. "Please, no one—"

The green child let out a tiny sound, something between a whimper and a gasp, and pressed himself as far as he could into the corner of the room, curling into a ball.

Tony let his hand fall uselessly to the floor, his eyes locked on the trembling body. With a shaky breath of his own, he sat back on his heels and looked down toward where the remains of Bruce's clothes laid, now in tatters. He stared at the torn children's shirt, his chest tight and feeling completely helpless, utterly useless.

Before that mindset could truly sink in, the sound of nearly inaudible crying broke into his mind. Tony looked up to see the child shrinking back to his normal size, his flesh losing its green hue to reveal the pink beneath. The more the kid shrunk, the more he began to shake with his quiet sobbing.

"…I'm sorry," came a tiny, cracked voice, high-pitched and innocent and so, so broken. Bruce drew a shuddering breath and curled more tightly into himself. "I-I'm so sorry."

It was heart-breaking. _These_ were the first words Bruce had spoken since waking up like this, and it tore Tony up to hear him for the very first time like _this_. He continued to stare at the weeping child for a moment longer before he carefully shuffled forward on his knees. He could feel Pepper watching him, but he only cared about comforting this poor child.

Tony came to a stop near Bruce, still on his knees. He gently held out a hand toward where the kid's head was tucked away into his arms, hoping he'd see it. No words were spoken; the only noise in the room was that of the child's crying. He had no intention of touching the four year old, not to break the hush, willing to wait as long as it took.

Sure enough, Bruce uncurled himself enough to peek out from the crook in his arm. He saw the man's hand and pressed back against the wall in a fit of momentary fear. When nothing happened, when no blow came, the boy's teary eyes ran up the length of the arm and up to the engineer's face.

Tony hadn't known what to expect when he had offered the child his hand, nor when his eyes locked with the watery brown ones now staring at him.

He was deeply surprised when, only a heartbeat later, Bruce launched away from the wall and latched himself to Tony's chest. The engineer's arms instantly wrapped around the child in a protective embrace and the boy wept into his shirt, clutching at the fabric like he never wanted to let go. One hand went immediately to the child's head while the other held him to his body. He rested his chin atop Bruce's head and his fingers moved gentle stroking movements through the boy's hair.

Tony had no idea how long they stayed there on the floor, clutching each other for dear life and disregarding the rest of the world. Nothing else mattered. He was so lost in his thoughts and so lost in comforting Bruce that he entirely lost track of time.

It wasn't until he felt a presence behind him and a gentle hand on his back that he returned to the present. He glanced over to find Pepper kneeling next to him. Their eyes met for a lingering moment, long enough for him to see the watery look in her eyes, before she glanced down at the child.

"We should put him in bed," she whispered.

It was then that he realized that Bruce had long-since gone still and had stopped crying. He glanced down at the boy and found his eyes closed, having fallen into an uneasy slumber brought on by the unexpected Hulk appearance and depleted burst of adrenaline.

Pepper removed her hand from his back as Tony readjusted his grip on Bruce and stood, cradling the child's body carefully. They both moved silently toward the bedroom they had set up for Bruce. Together, they changed him into his pajamas, tossing out what was left of the torn shirt and the stretched pants. The CEO stood back and watched her boyfriend gently tuck Bruce in before they exited the room and pulled the door nearly shut.

They stood outside the door in an uneasy silence for a minute, Tony leaning against the wall and staring down at the floor with a lost, angry, and forlorn look on his face.

"Not even five years old yet…" Tony mumbled at last. He looked up at Pepper, as if looking to her for an explanation.

A pang of remorse went through the redhead. She wrapped her arms around him and embraced him tightly, relieved to feel that he returned it just as fervently. They stayed that way for a minute or two, and then Pepper carefully broke them apart to lead them back into the main area of the penthouse. The tablet and spilt coffee were still on the ground. The SHIELD blanket was also still on the floor, tangled into a clump of fabric.

Pepper guided him around these things and they both sat down on the couch. There was an overwhelming silence that hung between them as they both sat motionless, his arm wrapped around her and her head on his shoulder.

"Not even five years old," Tony said again, breaking out of his reverie. "Who would beat the shit out of a _toddler_?" He was sorely tempted to break into the files SHIELD had of all the Avengers, into the _really_ classified stuff, to find out. But he didn't want to do that to adult-Bruce, who deeply respected what was left of his privacy from his days before the Hulk.

And it really wasn't that hard to guess who had hurt Bruce as a child, and it made his heart ache and his blood boil. There were only so many people in a toddler's social sphere before the schooling age, and he had reacted more strongly against men so far.

Tony felt his hands close into fists, hardly feeling his girlfriend's arms wrap around him securely. "Not even five years old yet, and the Hulk was already created," he growled. "God _damn it_."

Pepper held him and maintained her silence for a moment longer. "He survived it, Tony, just like you did."

A forced and mirthless bark of laughter escaped from the engineer. "My father didn't beat the shit out of me, Pep. It's hardly the same." He kept his eyes resolutely focused ahead of him.

"Abuse is abuse, no matter the form," Pepper replied. "You both survived it; look at where you both are now. You guys _protect _the Earth, and no matter how many times I've yelled at you for nearly getting yourself killed, I am so proud of you. You've both had your fair share of hardships, but you're doing something that no one else can. You both survived it, and are stronger people for it. God, I am so proud of you both, Tony."

She pressed a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek, and then settled her head on his shoulder again. Her eyes came to a rest on the small hole in the wall across the room. "You did a very good thing for him, Mr. Stark. You comforted him, and I think he really needed that. He was scared—"

"Terrified," Tony corrected her in an absentminded mumble.

"—and you didn't play into those fears, didn't make them real," Pepper continued. "He'll be better when he wakes up. A little sore and hungry, perhaps, but what happened tonight will not cause lasting damage. If anything, he might open up a little more, now that you've gone against his beliefs and have comforted him when he was in desperate need of it. You did a good thing for him, Tony, no matter what caused this situation."

Another silence passed between them, less smothering this time, before Pepper felt some of the tension in her boyfriend's shoulders relaxed. She met his gaze when he finally looked at her, his eyes full of gratitude.

Pepper smiled and pressed a proper kiss to his lips. "Come on; let's clean up that glass before one of us steps on it."

They both stood up, and before Pepper could move off to grab some paper towels, she was pulled into a firm embrace. She returned the hug as Tony buried his face into her neck, squeezing her tightly. "Thank you," he mumbled against her skin. The embrace loosened, but they remained in each other's arms just long enough to share another brief kiss before they began to clean up.


End file.
